Defending Against Agro Terrorism

920 Words2 Pages

After a long, hard day, you're really hungry. Imagine: tender slices of juicy roast beef, a

pile of creamy mashed potatoes and butter, crisp-fresh green beans and for dessert a slice of

warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Thanks to American agriculture, we are able

to enjoy this wide variety of delicious foods; but could a meal that seems to be picture perfect

be flawed by terrorism? Unfortunately, in today's world, threats of terrorism against the United

States are a reality. American agriculture could be a target; therefore affecting our food supply.

American agriculturists however, are working hard to decrease the vulnerability of our vast

system; they are on the front-line of defending our nation from agro terrorism.

Agro terrorism is classified as a threat to plants and animals, through biological agents,

diseases and pests. The United States Department of Agriculture, the USDA has pinpointed a

few of the most likely cases that America could face. They include wheat and soybean rust, as

well as some types of wood boring beetles. Other examples include Salmonella, Ebola, and

Anthrax. However, these are not the only threats that could arise. Intelligence has clued the

United States that the potential exists to create many other diseases that could contaminate our

plants and animals. We cannot allow even one of these diseases to invade our food supply. The

food could become tainted, we could be faced with a shorter supply of food, and in turn our

economy would suffer. We must determine where the disease could enter, what preventative

measures to take, and how to respond.

Agriculture is a bustling system of production. It is important that we are aware of how

our system could become contaminated. A disease could enter through the feed that we give our

livestock or maybe the vaccines that we use to treat them. Or maybe it could involve the

chemicals and seeds that we use to produce crops. It could possibly enter during the storing and

processing stages, or still yet it could enter during the transporting of agricultural products. At

all levels, American agriculturists strive to deliver a safe and quality product to the dinner tables

of not only our country, but around the world. We take very seriously our responsibility to

follow regulations and guidelines in all areas of production. Agro terrorism is an important issue

that the local, state, and national levels are taking on with a strong determination, with one goal

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