A Brief Note On Agro Terrorism And Its Effects On Society

Americans have become so fixated on a 9/11 type of attack that many others modes of terrorism often go over looked, such as agricultural terrorism (agro terrorism). Agro terrorism can be defined as the intentional release of a disease substance that impacts cattle and other food supply chains that either generates widespread fear or impacts a the social economic climate (Chalk, 2004). The U.S. is vulnerable for such a disruption and cannot wait until an attack occurs before significant action is taken to defend the people and keep America’s defenses in a mode that detects and deters potential threats. Vulnerabilities have to be identified and steps have to be taken to mitigate the impact of a potential threat. There is no way to prevent†¦show more content†¦in attempt to be heard. Additionally, if another 9/11 happened you can’t rule out this type of attack to further disrupt stability and put more fear and chaos in the minds of citizens. This type of attack can be done simultaneously with another attack and cause the same damage to U.S. infrastructure as if a building had collapsed. With little to no resistance, the terrorist organization can achieve a low risk, high reward attack and ultimately achieve the desired results of panic and production lag even if the attempt is unsuccessful or quickly contained. The vulnerabilities exist in monitoring, detection, response, and a clear lack of knowledgeable technicians and diagnostic professionals dedicated to agricultural terrorism. Monitoring Currently, the U.S. has identified a need to develop plans that will collect and integrate information for the agricultural safety of America’s food chain. Some states have addressed the issue but only North Carolina has made significant strides in what developed agricultural plan would look like. As of now, there is no effective national coordination on the federal level despite the existence of presidential directives aimed at securing this weakness. Specifically, the â€Å"Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 (HSPD-9), â€Å"Defense of United States Agriculture and Food† (Monke, 2005). This directive aimed to plan for the protection of agricultural resources in the