Agricultural Terrorism Readings
The following articles and reports from the last few months may be read online if the URL is provided. Links to items below may become inactive over time. Some articles are listed even though they are not available free online. Please contact Jeffrey Michaels for questions about the content of this page.
Found: FDA officials link salmonella outbreak to Mexican-grown jalapeño
by Nikhil Swaminathan
Scientific American, July 22, 2008
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=found-fda-officials-link-salmonella-2008-07-22
Forget tomatoes. At least for now. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a direct link to hot peppers as a culprit in the salmonella poisoning that has sickened 1,250 people in the U.S. and Canada since April.
Salmonella Sickness Toll Climbs to 1,148
by Steven Reinberg
Washington Post, July 16, 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071501656.html
The salmonella toll continues to mount in what has become the largest foodborne outbreak in the United States in more than a decade.
Leak from proposed ag lab could cost billions
by Robert Roos
CIDRAP News, July 3, 2008
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/bioprep/news/jul0308lab-jw.html
A leak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus at any of six proposed sites for a large federal laboratory to study foreign animal diseases could cost billions of dollars, according to a recent report by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Report: Plum Island lab least costly site for leak risk
by Bill Bleyer
Newsday, June 21, 2008
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-liplum215736102jun21,0,1878813.story
A Department of Homeland Security analysis of potential locations for a laboratory to replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center says the cost of escaping pathogens to the national economy would be greater at five mainland sites than a leak from a new facility on Plum Island.
UN official: Bird biosecurity lapses could worsen food crisis
by Lisa Schnirring
CIDRAP News, June 20, 2008
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/jun2008meeting-jw.html
Lax biosecurity measures around poultry in some countries could lead to an increasing number of H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks that could exacerbate the global food crisis, an official from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said at an international infectious disease conference in Malaysia on June 20.
Court stops privacy for livestock database
by Mary Mosquera
Federal Computer Week, June 12, 2008
http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152817-1.html
A federal district court has ordered the Agriculture Department to suspend its effective date for applying Privacy Act safeguards to a database that is the foundation for the National Animal Identification System.
K-State one of four finalists vying for facility
by Tim Carpenter
The Capital-Journal (Topeka, Kansas), June 08, 2008
http://cjonline.com/stories/060808/kan_287962402.shtml
Competition is fierce for the $450 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, as a consortium led by Kansas State is competing against coalitions in Athens, Ga., Butner, N.C.; Flora, Miss.; and San Antonio to host the replacement for an outmoded, isolated federal animal research center in New York state.
[U.K.] Labs escape outbreak prosecution
BBC News, May 29, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7424887.stm
The animal health laboratories at the centre of last summer's foot and mouth disease outbreak will not be prosecuted, Surrey County Council says.
"Germs, Viruses, and Secrets: Government Plans to Move Exotic Disease Research to the United States"
House Energy & Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, May 22, 2008
http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/schedule.shtml
This is the second in a series of hearings the Subcommittee is holding on the proliferation of biological research laboratories.
Geospatial tool tracks disease outbreaks globally
by Kathleen Hickey
Government Computer News, May 8, 2008
http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/46241-1.html
Contagion among wild animals, which has often resulted in human disease outbreaks, now can be tracked via the U.S. Geological Survey updated and expanded Global Wildlife Disease News Map Version 2.
"Fixing Food Safety: Protecting America's Food Supply From Farm-to-Fork"
Trust for America's Health (TFAH), April 30, 2008
http://healthyamericans.org/reports/foodsafety08/
Trust for America's Health (TFAH) has released a new report that identifies major gaps in the nation's food safety system, including obsolete laws, misallocation of resources, and inconsistencies among major food safety agencies.
Health group urges overhaul of U.S. food safety system
by Robert Roos
CIDRAP News, April 30, 2008
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/fs/food-disease/news/apr3008tfah.html
Calling the U.S. food safety system antiquated and disjointed, a public health advocacy group urges a major overhaul to make the system stronger, more coherent, and better attuned to today's major threats.
USDA provides RFID ear tags for cattle
by Mary Mosquera
Federal Computer Week, April 21, 2008
http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152305-1.html
The Agriculture Department has provided radio frequency ear tags that comply with its National Animal Identification System (NAIS) to help animal health officials control bovine tuberculosis in livestock.
Foodborne disease rates changed little in 2007
by Robert Roos
CIDRAP News, April 10, 2008
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/fs/food-disease/news/apr1008foodnet-jw.html
The rates of the most common foodborne illnesses in the United States have remained about the same since 2004, pointing to a need for increased efforts to ensure food safety, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
FDA seeks comments on food safety plan
by Lisa Schnirring
CIDRAP News, April 1, 2008
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/fs/food-disease/news/apr0108fda.html
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced it is seeking public and stakeholder comments on the food safety plan that it proposed in November to address concerns about foodborne illness and problems with imported products.