by Susan Thompson
Communications Specialist
ISU College of Agriculture

The approaching holidays means friends and family gathering around favorite foods. We won't give much thought to whether that food could have been altered in a terrorist attack. But the possibility exists. That's why officials at Iowa State University are working with other universities and state and federal government agencies to ensure the safety of our food.
   
"Infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria could be used by terrorists to place crop and animal production at risk or to intentionally make people sick," said Catherine Woteki, dean of the ISU College of Agriculture. "Iowa State plays an important role in the emergency response to animal or plant disease outbreaks."

Woteki recently organized a session on food and agro-terrorism for the BioSecurity 2003 conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Harvard Medical School. About 450 people attended, including government officials, medical personnel and defense contractors.

Biosecurity refers to the processes designed to protect an entity from attack by biological organisms. "One question is how we can recognize a terrorist act out of the many naturally occurring events," said James Dickson, interim director of Iowa State's Institute for Food Safety and Security, and a professor in the animal science department.

Dickson was a presenter at the conference. "Economic losses from unintentional animal and plant diseases in the past have been huge," Dickson said. "For instance, an avian influenza outbreak in the United States in 1983 meant the loss of 17 million birds at a cost of $65 million. The 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain cost $30 billion."

Dickson said the intent of agricultural bioterrorists would be to create those same sorts of economic losses, or to create fear of a specific product so consumers won't buy it. "It's relatively low-risk to the terrorist because there is less public response if the target is an animal or plant, rather than humans," Dickson said.

Telling the difference between a deliberate event and an unintentional one will be difficult, but not impossible. "Producers and processors must watch for early warning signs - an unusual disease, rapid onset, any indication of the outbreak being localized to a specific geographic area, and large numbers of diseased plants, animals or humans in that area," Dickson said.

Woteki said the key is whether officials are prepared to respond in a timely manner when a problem occurs. "State and federal emergency procedures for both animal and plant disease outbreaks are in place," Woteki said. "Iowa State fits into those emergency plans in several places. But more basic research and training is needed so unusual disease outbreaks can be rapidly recognized and reported, and so effective public information materials can be developed quickly."