Surveying the Threat of Agroterrorism: Perspectives on Food, Agriculture, and Veterinary Defense
Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response
2025-09-16
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Source: Congress.gov
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C
Cris Young, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, COL USA (Ret.)
C
Cris Young, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, COL USA (Ret.)
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The Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management Technology will come to order. Without objection, the chair may declare the subcommittee in recess at any point. The purpose of this hearing is to assess the threat of agro-terrorism to the United States food and agriculture sector and examine how federal efforts to prevent, respond to, and recover from such attacks can be strengthened. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. Today this subcommittee is meeting to discuss the threats posed by agroterrorism and other malicious actors who seek to harm America's food and agriculture sector. The importance of our nation's agriculture assets to both our economy and national security cannot be overstated. Agroterrorists who use biological agents and other means to disrupt our food supply chain can find success in generating mass fear, instability, and economic damage. This makes our agriculture a tempting target for hostile actors. Just earlier this year, the DOJ charged three Chinese nationals with trying to smuggle hazardous biological material into the United States. materials that could have threatened the health of our crops and our livestock. These Chinese nationals intended to conduct further research on the materials at the University of Michigan laboratory. That raises serious questions about the risk of modifying dangerous pathogens and other strengths of security measures protecting research conducted within our universities and laboratories. While CBP agents successfully intercepted the undeclared biological materials, this incident highlights the critical role of food safety and security in our homeland security operations. Unfortunately, these incidents are just the latest development in an ongoing trend of foreign and malign interest in U.S. agriculture.
The risks we face aren't limited to just the international introduction of biological threats. More and more, the food and agriculture industries have incorporated automations and digital technologies to improve the efficiency of farming. But as the farming industry continues to increase its use of these technologies, it becomes more vulnerable to cyber attack, potentially jeopardizing the entire supply chain. Rogue actors have also attempted to breach our agriculture sector from within. A GAO study from January of last year confirmed that foreign ownership of U.S. farmland has been steadily increasing over the course of decades. And there's a growing concern that groups affiliated with the PRC will continue to seek to purchase farmland near and around U.S. military bases and installations.
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