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The average American spends about 11 percent of their income on food, compared to the worldwide average of 20 to 30 percent; this statistic demonstrates what a safe, plentiful, and inexpensive food supply the United States is fortunate to have. In fact, the prosperous economy of the United States is directly linked to this abundance, with nearly one out of six U.S. jobs being linked to its trillion-dollar agricultural industry.

These facts combined with the vulnerability and lack of protection surrounding the U.S. food supply makes this industry is also a very tempting target for terrorists. It is no surprise that when the United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2002, U.S. agricultural documents and al-Qaeda training manuals targeting the nation’s agricultural industry were found.

While agroterrorism can cause great physical harm to a targeted population, attacking the economic stability of the United States is a greater goal. Economic crises in the agriculture and food industries can easily result if the health of the nation’s animals and plants is threatened. Social unrest and a loss of confidence in government are secondary goals, just as they are with any other form of terrorism. Both the United States and the Soviet Union stockpiled tons of

wheat stem rust spores that could be used in a potential attack on the other nation’s wheat crops. Wheat rust is a very serious disease that can wipe out entire crops. In 1989, the U.S. Embassy in Chile received information that grapes moving from Chile to the United States and Japan were contaminated with cyanide. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found two contaminated grapes after a thorough investigation, but the contamination was so minute that it was deemed not to be a serious threat. This event did lead to several countries cutting off agricultural imports from Chile and losses of over $300 million for Chilean farmers.

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What Is Agroterrorism?

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