Posted on: Sunday, June 6, 2004

U.S. farmers train to avert agro-terrorism

By James R. Carroll
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — Farmers, ranchers and veterinarians are working regularly with state and local officials to prepare for a terrorist strike that could claim more victims than the Sept. 11 attacks.

But the talk isn't of bombs.

The focus is on how the most productive agricultural nation on Earth can shield its livestock, crops and food-processing plants from a terrorist attack that could cripple the economy.

"The threat is real," said Dr. Debbie Seymour, a veterinarian in Jackson County, Ky., who said agro-terrorism is on her checklist now whenever she visits farms on her rounds. "I think the veterinary community in general is on the front lines."

There have been instances in which terrorists used diseases and poisons within the United States — most recently 20 years ago in Oregon when a cult group sickened about 750 people by tainting a salad bar with salmonella.

Beyond the efforts of individual states, the country's readiness to respond is a matter of dispute. Congress is divided over how much money to commit to protecting against terrorism in rural America.

The RAND Corp., the federal General Accounting Office and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, among other groups, point to numerous shortcomings in efforts to keep the nation's widespread food production and supply network safe.

Too few inspectors, inconsistent inspection standards and a flood of imports are putting stresses on the safety system, experts say.

Veterinarians and government agents don't have enough training to spot and diagnose suspicious disease outbreaks, and the way diseases are reported is confusing and inefficient, critics said.

An advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded last fall that the nation "is not adequately prepared at this time to respond effectively to the potential introduction of a highly infectious foreign animal disease or any other type of biological agent that might disrupt the food supply chain."

Federal officials insist that protecting food "from farm to fork" is a top national security priority and numerous steps are being taken to tighten safety. They note:

• More food inspectors have been hired in the past couple of years, bringing the number to 7,500 in USDA and 1,500 in the Food and Drug Administration.

• For the first time, food shippers and processing facilities serving the U.S. market have been registered with the government so in the event of contamination, inspectors will be able to quickly trace the origin of suspect products. The registry includes foreign as well as domestic companies.

• Food importers must notify the government of shipments and their contents, or the products will not be permitted into the country.

• A program to track cattle, from birth to slaughterhouse, is under way. This summer, farms are being given identification numbers; by next year, individual animals will be tagged.

• An improved federal network of labs has been set up to quickly diagnose suspicious outbreaks of animal and plant diseases.

• Farmers and veterinarians are being given pamphlets and CD-ROMs and have been going to workshops about unusual diseases that might signal intentional introduction of biological agents.

• Farmers have been given guidelines for tightening security and alerting authorities about anything suspicious.

• Food-processing facilities now severely limit, and in many cases prohibit, public access.

"We don't want to be that soft target," said Jeremy Stump, director of homeland security at USDA.

Agriculture amounts to 13 percent of the gross domestic product and accounts for 18 percent of employment, according to the General Accounting Office.