United States vulnerable to terrorist attack on food supply

WASHINGTON -- A year after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States remains vulnerable to bioterrorism aimed at farms that produce the nation's food, a panel of scientists said in a report released Thursday.

"It's not a matter of 'if.' It's a matter of 'when,"' said R. James Cook, a committee member from Washington State University. "While there may be a very low probability now, what about in 20 years?"

The scientists said an attack was unlikely to result in a famine or malnutrition but could shake public confidence in the food supply and devastate the economy -- costing anywhere from millions of dollars to tens of billions of dollars.

The report was prepared by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. It is one of the most comprehensive reviews of the nation's plans to fight bioterrorism.

Borders are critical

Terrorists could carry diseases past U.S. border inspectors to farms in remote areas, infecting cattle with mad cow disease, spreading anthrax or contaminating corn with bacteria.

The panel of 12 scientists began considering these possibilities around the time of the attacks and after foot-and-mouth disease infected herds of cattle, sheep and pigs in Britain. Although the disease doesn't harm humans, it cost Britain millions of dollars to control.

The appearance of anthrax-laden letters last year also heightened the scientists' concerns.

In its report, the council pinpointed weaknesses in the federal government's plan to defend against a bioterrorist attack on agriculture. It urged U.S. officials to improve their communication with intelligence agencies, universities and farm groups to help the public cope with food and farm security threats.

The group also suggested the government strengthen its border inspections by adding new equipment to detect harmful bacteria and diseases.

In addition, the council said the government should immediately:

Increase its efforts to understand plant and animal diseases and how they spread.

Establish a network of laboratories that would respond to, detect and diagnose diseases.

Form a nationwide system to manage and collect bioterrorism information.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said in a statement Thursday that the agency already is taking steps to improve security and its response to an attack on crops or farm animals.

Veneman said the agency has increased research programs that would make it easier to detect diseases, giving $43 million this year to states and land grant universities to improve screening equipment.

The department also is renovating its laboratories that would handle testing of samples suspected to be biological weapons.

The agency was given an additional $328 million for homeland security improvements this year and its requesting $143 million more for next year.

Although the Agriculture Department commissioned the report, it had sought to withhold its release, fearing that the information in it could be used as a resource for terrorists planning to attack the nation's food supply.

But when the National Academies met with the department and the Office of Homeland Security, "the government did not assert that the report contained classified information," the council wrote.

Other scientists also had reservations about the report, said William E. Coalglazier, executive officer for the National Academy of Sciences, an independent research group chartered by Congress to guide the government on scientific matters.

"Clearly the academy does not want to provide a road map for terrorists," Coalglazier said.

Because the council used some classified documents for the assessment, the National Academies decided to remove information from a section that described specific case studies, Coalglazier said. Only government officials can read those details.

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On the Net

National Academy of Sciences: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf

Agriculture Department: http://www.usda.gov