How to be an Agro-Terrorist in One Easy Lesson
[Guest post by DRJ]
From VOA News:
“There is growing concern that farms and ranches in the western U.S. could become the target of agroterrorism. The devastating outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Britain and continental Europe have state officials in the U.S. west concerned that a terrorist could disrupt their communities and the food supply with a chemical or biological agent.”
How could it happen?
“It could easily happen in a place like this — a foreign disease agent maliciously introduced into a dairy herd in the state of Wyoming. The disease could quickly spread throughout the state with devastating results.
Joe Moore is the Director of the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. “Agroterrorism is a threat throughout the country. We believe the weapon of choice still remains the bomb for the foreign terrorist. And the next step of course was the bioterrorism part and the public health, And the third part — and all of them are important — becomes agroterrorism.”
On any given day, thousands of head of livestock move through Wyoming to other states. An agroterrorism event could do incalculable harm to the economies of western states and disrupt the nations food supply.
Wyoming Livestock Board Veterinarian Walter Cook says introducing an agent like foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax or cholera into the state would be very easy. “It is as easy as going over to one of the third world countries that has foot-and-mouth disease in their native population, taking a handkerchief and wiping the nose of a pig that is actively shedding the virus, putting that handkerchief in a plastic bag, putting it into your suitcase, and flying over to the United States and throwing that handkerchief into a feed lot, or sale barn situation, something like that. Then you could expose a lot of animals that way.”
Wyoming and other agricultural states are developing rapid response programs to deal with these issues. Wyoming doesn’t see itself as a likely target for terrorists but “the Livestock Board has received threats from domestic animal rights groups opposed to the sport of rodeo.”
Anti-rodeo terrorists. That’s all we need.
— DRJ
DRJ, I’m surprised such an attack–foreign-based or domestic–hasn’t happened already somewhere in the agricultural U.S.
Paul (5efd01) — 9/12/2007 @ 4:50 pmThere were a slew of E-coli related breakouts last year and the year before. It seems like a really easy one to manage.
Al (b624ac) — 9/12/2007 @ 5:24 pmAl,
There’s a report today on that California e coli outbreak that says there was no follow-up done by federal or state authorities, other than tracking down the 50-acre plot where it originated. Instead, they left it up to the industry for self-enforcement:
That doesn’t sound like there’s much of a California rapid response team.
DRJ (4725f3) — 9/12/2007 @ 6:18 pmOn the other hand, spinach producers lost a lot of money, including those in other parts of the country where no problem existed (across the Delaware River in NJ the farmers took a loss before the problem was located in CA). They have reason to make their product safe.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 9/12/2007 @ 6:27 pmBut do all their employees?
DRJ (4725f3) — 9/12/2007 @ 6:29 pmAnd do they also have an incentive to publicly admit when they have a problem?
I’m not interested in over-regulating business but public health and safety are recognized areas where we decided long ago that some oversight is appropriate. The problem seems to be that there isn’t really any oversight. It’s similar to the problems with the air transportation system and the TSA before (and theoretically after) 9/11.
DRJ (4725f3) — 9/12/2007 @ 6:32 pmI imagine it is a very “hand to mouth” existence with rapid feedback. If the crops in the field become worthless, then there is no reason to pick, and no job to have.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 9/12/2007 @ 6:32 pmRanchers are particularly touchy about folks fooling around with their stock. IIRC, in past history, those who had their own plans for ranch stock were dealt with rather harshly, outside the normal justice system. Perhaps an effective antidote to the environemental terrorism movement will be re-awakened in those Neanderthal “cowboys”.
Another Drew (8018ee) — 9/12/2007 @ 7:02 pmThose days are long gone, Another Drew. I’m a farm-boy, I know. You can’t till your fields or tend your flocks from prison.
nk (474afa) — 9/12/2007 @ 7:08 pmIt would be hard not to have the problem be made public if there were enough cases of something that triggered public health officials picking it up. Could a farmer have an outbreak of something and loose animals and keep it quiet if no one, or only a family member or two became ill? Probably yes. But once an outbreak is detected and an investigation is underway, the source will be revealed.
The problems are two-fold, as I see it-
1. Economic damage by infecting or killing a large number of animals or contaminating crops.
2. Illness and death if something is introduced that spreads rapidly and with significant risk of death. Many people could get sick and die before the threat was identified.
Nightmare scenario is a case of Ebola in someone on a plane. The person doesn’t feel well, gets sick and vomits. “Maybe it’s motion sickness, maybe coming down with the flu”. No one else on the plane is sick, so not food poisoning. Ebola is relatively contagious, especially to nearby passengers and staff assisting the person, including once arrives, etc. Maybe dozens of people exposed before the first person gets admitted to the hospital- where others will get exposed if no one picks up the person became ill after being in an area where it is endemic. By the time it is understood what the person has there will be mini-outbreaks scattered all over.
Of course the opposite would be bad as well, introducing a slow-virus or prion infection like Mad-Cow that would infect large numbers before the animals show signs of being ill.
But #1 I think is the main risk with agroterrorism, in the US anyway. Other places more “on the margin” may have resulting starvation, etc.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 9/12/2007 @ 7:32 pmMD in Philly,
Smallpox would be my choice. One-third fatality rate, one-third debilitation. Those, like me, who were vaccinated 45 years ago would be asymptomatic carriers. Virulence from nine feet away.
nk (474afa) — 9/12/2007 @ 7:53 pmnk-
You’re probably right for a planned terrorist attack against humans.
What I was trying to do, but was not very clear, was make the point that for agro-terrorism to directly injury people the contagion would need some specific characteristics. Foot and mouth would be easy to introduce, but would result in few if any human deaths.
From my sources (which include expert virologists) those of us vaccinated 45 years ago would have some protection but it is not exactly known how many would be completely immune, have defenses to limit to sub-clinical infection as you describe, or actually get sick.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 9/12/2007 @ 8:07 pmDarn it MD in Philly,
You’re forcing me to think. All crimes, including terrorism, are crimes of opportunity. Smallpox virus is hard to come by. So you’re correct in your scenario of relatively easily obtainable and relatively easily introduced biological agents.
nk (474afa) — 9/12/2007 @ 8:21 pmI’m with MD in Philly on this one, our food supplies are more resilient than appears, mostly from a combination of the fact that some contaminants that naturally occur like E.Coli have to be dealt with, and the wide dispersal of it.
Robin Roberts (6c18fd) — 9/12/2007 @ 8:36 pmI agree, but terrorism isn’t just about killing thousands or even tens of thousands of people. It’s about making people afraid, and you only have to kill a handful to do that. Think about the Tylenol poisonings years ago. It doesn’t take much to make people afraid.
DRJ (4725f3) — 9/12/2007 @ 8:38 pmTell me, nk…
Another Drew (8018ee) — 9/13/2007 @ 4:53 pmDoes Shoot, Shovel, and Shut-up ring a bell?
Beware of extremists like ALF and ELF these radicals want to drive these farmers and ranchers off the land and return it to wilderness why else have they come up with the WILDLANDS PROJECT which is backed by many radicals just read the book RAINBOW SIX by TOM CLANCY and get the idea
krazy kagu (1b5cd8) — 9/14/2007 @ 7:05 am