Food Defense Awareness

In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Presidential Directive (HSPD-7), which categorized the assets and systems most important to the social and economic viability of the USA into a list of critical infrastructure and key resource sectors (Bush, Homeland security presidential directive 7. Directive on critical infrastructure identification, prioritization, and protection. Weekly compilation of presidential documents (22 Dec 2003), 39(51):1816–1822, 2003). Both the food and agriculture sectors, which produce an abundance of products for the national and global markets, were identified as part of this critical infrastructure. The US restaurant industry alone is projected to generate close to $700 billion in sales in 2014 or 4 % of the US gross domestic product (NRA, 2014 Restaurant Industry Pocket Factbook, 2014); farm assets in 2012 were valued at $2.8 trillion (USDA ERS, U.S. and State-Level Farm Income and Wealth Statistics, 2014a), and the $141.3 billion of agricultural exports in 2012 produced a total domestic economic output of more than $320 billion and required 929,000 full-time civilian jobs (USDA ERS, Effects of trade on the U.S. economy, 2014b). These statistics indicate that a successful, wide-ranging terrorist attack against a high-profile target within the food and agriculture sector could have a significant impact on the US economy and public health. This chapter will explore how the food and agriculture sector may be vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the types of attacks possible, and preventive actions that can be considered.