Re: agricultural sabotage?

**Conrad Richter conrad@richters.com>**

On Thu, 13 Jun 2002 gardenwriters-request@lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> From: "swren1" <swren1@msn.com>
> Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 07:19:01 -0500
> 
> > > have a good searchable computer database of noxious weed candidates?
> 
> Forgive the silly question, it's early here.  You mean there are weeds that
> terrorists can use to sabotage crops?  I thought that sort of thing would
> require poisoning the plants or flying overhead and spraying Roundup on
> them.  Boy, it sure is a different world these days.
> 
> Sharon Wren
> http://i.am/overworkedandunderpaid

Well, it is hard to unpack the rationale for a lot of what the U.S. 
government is doing with this new "Homeland Security" department.  I
think the immediate concern is that terrorists could contaminate
imported foods, the safety of which is one of the things APHIS is
responsible for.  But terrorists could also endanger animals and crops
by introducing pests and diseases. 

There is the reverse accusation often repeated a few decades ago that
the American government and military were responsible for introducing
the potato beetle to Central Europe during the second world war causing
severe damage to potato crops in that region.  I have no idea how
true that is, but I heard it many times from people of European descent. 

But a critical question has to be asked: is shutting out all imported
foods the answer to these theoretical threats?  I don't believe the U.S. 
can survive without imported foods. Therefore finding different
approaches to securing the food supply is critical.  Likewise, is
shutting out imported plant germplasm the answer?  Unfortunately, it
seems a lot of people think so, to the detriment of a very unvocal
constituency -- the gardeners and horticultural trades people of the
country. 

Conrad Richter 

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