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Defense Against Biological Attacks pp 359–383Cite as

Agrobioterrorism

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Abstract

This chapter reviews biological weapons attacks on agriculture as well as acts of agrobioterrorism. The paper explores reasons for biological attacks on agricultural targets as well as the history of the development of biological weapons by nation states as well as examples of non-state actors (terrorists) and lone individuals committing acts of agrobioterrorism. The routes of food from farm to consumer and the modes of attack (e.g. crops, livestock animals) are described as a means to achieve agrobioterrorism. Vulnerability factors of agricultural targets to biological weapon attacks are discussed in detail as are nonstandard models of biological weapons attack (examples biocruise, biofuel crops, and use of introduced species). Furthermore, a clear set of indicators is described to differentiate whether an outbreak is accidental or deliberate and hence a potential biological weapons attack. Counterstrategies to deal with agricultural biological weapon attacks are discussed. These include improvements in detection technologies, enhanced communication between producers, agricultural agencies, and military, use of genetic engineering and advanced agricultural techniques, and enhanced need for government protection of agricultural infrastructure.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboure College, Milton, MA, USA

    Lawrence F. Roberge

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  1. Lawrence F. Roberge
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Correspondence to Lawrence F. Roberge .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Sunit K. Singh

  2. NIH/NIAID, Division of Clinical Research, Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA

    Jens H. Kuhn

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Roberge, L.F. (2019). Agrobioterrorism. In: Singh, S., Kuhn, J. (eds) Defense Against Biological Attacks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03071-1_16

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