California agricultural catastrophe could start with a single handkerchief.
In the hands of a clever terrorist, the handkerchief could be contaminated with the foot-and-mouth disease virus, then dropped in a pen of livestock. Cattle, which are curious by nature, would soon start sniffing the handkerchief, potentially creating a ground zero for one of the most feared diseases in farming.
The resulting outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease wouldn’t cause mass casualties like other terrorist attacks, but the effects could be devastating for California’s agribusiness. Mending this break in the food-supply chain would cost billions. Consumer confidence would suffer and the market price of beef would plummet, leaving ranchers in an economic meltdown.
Dr. Bennie Osburn and his colleagues work to prevent such devastation and develop strategies that would minimize the damage. He’s the director of outreach and training at UC Davis’ Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, which is funded in part by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/13/6548198/farm-to-warfare-uc-davis-institute.html