Agricultural Terrorism in the Midwest:
The potential for terrorists to disrupt economies and societies by introducing pathogens into the food chain and livestock is being taken seriously by government agencies. For example:

• An addition was made to the 2001 budget for $39.8 million to be appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a federal body that was not in the past received much attention.
• The concern stemmed from the realization that chemical bioterrorism attacks against livestock and the food chain are substantially easier and less risky to carry out than those directed at civilian attacks.

Livestock Attacks:

• Weaponising biological pathogens to destroy agricultural livestock is far easier than creating mutations designed to kill people.
• There are far more agents that are lethal and highly contagious to animals than in the case with humans. Many of the agents are not routinely vaccinated against. At least 22 diseases are known to exist.
• U.S livestock has become more progressively disease prone in recent years as a result of intensive antibiotic and steroid programs have been designed to elevate volume, quality and quantity of meat production. The modifications have dramatically elevated stress levels of exposed livestock, which has lowered the natural tolerance of farm animals to disease.
• There are many possible agents and vectors that could be used in a food borne attack, many of which are readily available or do not require any substantial scientific knowledge.
• The developments in the farm-to-table logistics chain have increased the number of potential entry points for chemical contamination.
• There is a low level of bio-security and surveillance that exists in many of the food processing and rendering plants throughout the food processing and rendering plants throughout the U.S.
• Because there is no large-scale loss of human life, perpetrators are unlikely to be affected by moral guilt.
• The perpetrator does not get harmed in this type of attack, therefore, giving more motive to this type of biochemical attack.
• The potential to detect the perpetrator is very low.

Economic Destabilization:

• One of the most immediate effects of a major act of biological agricultural terrorism would be to create economic destabilization.
• A terrorist wishing to cause severe financial consequences would simply be to introduce a foreign disease into American livestock, which would set off a chain reaction touching virtually every citizen’s pocketbook. (Paraphrased quote by Corrie Brown, veterinary pathologist at the University of Georgia.

Loss of Confidence:

• A successful bioattack against the U.S. agricultural sector would be to instill a loss of confidence in the central government and the safety of the food supply.

All material taken from www.janes.com under the law enforcement link.
"The U.S. agricultural sector: a new target for terrorism," by Professor Peter Chalk. Feb. 9, 2001.