Terrorists Target American Agriculture

Is there a bulls eye on the backs of America’s farmers and ranchers? With troops in various places around the globe protecting our freedoms, the impact of 9-11 is still fresh in our memories. How many lives were forever changed when those planes hit the Twin Towers and the U.S. Pentagon? How far did our economy fall as a result of the disruption of our financial markets? In a nutshell, al Qaeda wanted to hit us where it hurts. That’s why we must be vigilant and proactive in protecting U.S. agriculture, a trillion-dollar industry that employs one in every six Americans. “Terrorists consider America’s agriculture and food production tempting targets,” reports the FBI. “They have noticed that its food supply is among the most vulnerable and least protected of all potential targets of attack. When American and allied forces overran al Qaeda sanctuaries in the caves of eastern Afghanistan in 2002, among the thousands of documents they discovered were U.S. agricultural documents and al Qaeda training manuals targeting agriculture. “A subset of bioterrorism, agro terrorism is defined as ‘the deliberate introduction of an animal or plant disease for the purpose of generating fear, causing economic losses, or undermining social stability.’ It represents a tactic to attack the economic stability of the U.S. Killing livestock and plants or contaminating food can help terrorists cause economic crises in the agriculture and food industries. Secondary goals include social unrest and loss of confidence in government.” Obviously, the FBI is seriously concerned with this threat, and although agro terrorism isn’t a new concept, the agency continues to warn producers to be wary of the potential dangers of agro terrorism...more

The FBI report is here.