Agriterror a subtle danger in rural America

When most people hear the word terrorism, their minds generally shift to a scene akin to that of Sept. 11, 2001.

They see skyscrapers burning and cities in chaos. They see urban areas and high human population densities as the major targets. People locked into this metro-centric idea of terrorism don't see a field of corn or a herd of livestock as potential terrorist targets.

That is something that biologists, agriculturists and Homeland Security officials are trying to change.

Agriterrorism is a term those officials are working to add to the vernacular, especially that of rural America. Peter Hofherr, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, defines agriterrorism as an intentional attack on agriculture infrastructures with biological agents. Hofherr discussed the topic at a recent conference in Columbia, Mo. That agent could be a disease or contaminant introduced by terrorists to a plant or animal that can spread and diminish entire crops and herds of livestock.

A primary reason the Department of Agriculture and like-minded agencies are trying to raise awareness of agriterrorism is because agriculture is a relatively easy target.

"It could be as simple as someone coming to a field and injecting a disease into an animal," said Southeast Missouri State University environmental science professor John Kraemer. "I mean, who'd ever know?"

Kraemer helps run the Center For Environmental Analysis at Southeast. At this environmental trace lab, he and his colleagues conduct research to identify and detect potential bioterrorism agents, study ways to combat and contain them, and study their potential effects on animals, plants and humans. He said this lab work is one of the first lines of defense against agriterrorism.

"The research allows us to get better in detection and prevention, as well as learn how to isolate and recover from incidents if they should occur," Kraemer said. Without divulging specific vulnerabilities, Kraemer said any area with as much agricultural activity as Southeast Missouri has a plethora of potential agriterrorism targets.

But Kraemer and others in the field say it's important to put the potential danger in its proper context. Robert Larson is a veterinary beef production specialist at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He said a common misconception many people have is that an agriterrorism attack would be aimed at harming humans physically by way of disease introduced into the food supply. Larson said this simply is not true.

This is because agents that cause zoonotic diseases -- those that can spread from animal to human -- are not likely agents of agriterrorism. Diseases like anthrax, brucellosis, tularemia and ebola are rare and the samples heavily regulated and therefore hard to come by. Larson said the most likely goal of an agriterrorist attack instead would be to introduce an animal- or crop-specific disease that has limited effect on humans, if any -- like foot-and-mouth disease in cattle -- with the aim of inflicting economic and psychological harm.

"The threat is no less real, just different," Larson said.

Such an attack that would wipe out crops or livestock could have a devastating impact economically, disrupting the industry in a number of ways. Beyond the loss of capital to the farmer, a widespread attack could cause a shortage that would drastically raise prices. In addition, it could create foreign unease about the integrity of American products, resulting in a decrease of U.S.-exported food. An example of this would be the closing of several foreign markets to U.S. beef during the mad cow scare of a year ago.

On a psychological level, Larson said, such an incident could cause widespread domestic mistrust of the food supply. It would also give many Americans a feeling of general vulnerability to outside attack.

An eye abroad

Kraemer said the first step to preventing agriterrorism in America is to monitor the situation abroad. That includes studying diseases that are affecting crops and livestock in Europe and elsewhere, watching how they move and how they affect the population. Using this information, the government must then monitor U.S. borders and ports to see that none of these potentially infected animals enters the country.

Secondly, Kraemer said, it's important to improve methods of inspection and detection. Much of this is done in his lab and in university labs around the country. He said government use of universities as research and training grounds is vital in any cohesive effort to stop agriterrorism and bioterrorism.

Larson said another key to detection and prevention is a closer monitoring of the places where these agents can be transferred between animals. Therefore, food processing plants and silos could be targeted. Another place to closely watch would be anywhere animals are brought into contact with one another, such as farms, sale barns and stockyards.

Kraemer and Larson agree that awareness among farmers is another vital element of prevention. If farmers can quickly detect when a crop or animal is infected, it increases the chances of containing the spread of that infection and limiting the damage. The Missouri Department of Agriculture is working to provide disease recognition training to farmers and practitioners. Both Kraemer and Larson say that as soon as any farmer notices something amiss, they need to contact a veterinarian or botanist who can determine whether the occurrence is natural or of outside malicious intent.

If the latter is the case, then the vet or botanist can set into motion part of the state emergency plan the Department of Agriculture has created to deal with an animal disease outbreak. This involves coordination between the governor's office, state agencies and state law enforcement. The goal then will be to quickly identify, isolate and recover from the problem.

"The better in detection and prevention we are, the better we'll be able to isolate the problem and the quicker we'll be able to recover," Kraemer said.

trehagen@semissourian.com

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