Hitting America's soft underbelly : the potential threat of deliberate biological attacks against the U.S. agricultural and food industry / Peter Chalk.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chalk, Peter.

Contributor:

United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--Defense measures--United States.

Agriculture.

Civil defense--United States.

Civil defense.

Food industry and trade--Defense measures--United States.

Food industry and trade.

Bioterrorism--United States--Prevention.

Bioterrorism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (67 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Potential threat of deliberate biological attacks against the U.S. agricultural and food industry

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : Rand Corporation, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Over the past decade, the United States has endeavored to increase its ability to detect, prevent, and respond to terrorist threats and incidents. The agriculture sector and the food industry in general, however, have received comparatively little attention with respect to protection against terrorist incidents. This study aims to expand the current debate on domestic homeland security by assessing the vulnerabilities of the agricultural sector and the food chain to a deliberate act of biological terrorism and exploring the likely outcomes of a successful attack.

Contents:

Cover; Preface; Contents; Tables; Summary; Acknowledgments; Acronyms; CHAPTER ONE Introduction; Research Methods; The Importance of the Agricultural Sector to the U.S. Economy; Organization of This Report; CHAPTER TWO Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to Bio-Attacks; Concentrated and Intensive Contemporary Farming Practices; Increased Susceptibility of Livestock to Disease; Insufficient Farm/Food-Related Security and Surveillance; Inefficient Passive Disease-Reporting System; A Focus on Aggregate Rather Than Individual Livestock Statistics

Capability Requirements for Carrying Out an Agroterrorist Attack CHAPTER THREE Potential Impact of a Major Act of Agroterrorism; Economic Disruption; Loss of Political Support and Confidence in the Government; Social Instability; Agroterrorism to Generate Financial Capital and as a Form of Blackmail; Biological Assaults Against Agriculture and Terrorists' Modus Operandi; CHAPTER FOUR Policy Recommendations; Bibliography

Notes:

"Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense."

"MG-135-OSD"--P. [4] of cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

1-283-59732-2

9786613909770

0-8330-3594-0

OCLC:

56727371