Agroterrorism INTRODUCTION Agroterrorism is the willful, unlawful threatened or actual destruction of property or people through the agricultural and food industry to achieve the perpetrator’s ends, usually political. The ultimate target may be food | Agroterrorism Luther Tweeten Agricultural Environmental and Development Economics The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio . INTRODUCTION Agroterrorism is the willful unlawful threatened or actual destruction of property or people through the agricultural and food industry to achieve the perpetrator s ends usually political. The ultimate target may be food consumers. Agroterrorism or any other form of terrorism is a tool of choice in asymmetric power situations where the perpetrator perceives an inability to achieve ends through conventional political market judicial or educational channels. Terrorist threats and acts are a form of propaganda designed to achieve a political end by striking fear in people. Among the many forms of agroterrorism random killing of many innocent people is especially effective in striking widespread fear. Because everyone eats every day some experts conclude that the agricultural and food industry is an attractive venue through which the general population can be terrorized. The following paragraphs outline the threat and means to counter it. UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE AGROTERRORIST THREAT This section outlines characteristics of agroterrorists their possible targets and means to respond to the threat. The following observations characterize agroterrorism in the . Among industries the agriculture and food system has been the most frequent target of terrorists in the past decade or longer. Agroterrorists have been home grown. Approximately 100 acts of agroterrorism have been committed each year by persons from just two American organizations the Animal Liberation Front ALF and the Earth Liberation Front. Radicals from other groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have engaged in petty acts of terrorism such as throwing paint on fur coats. The only international agroterrorism activity in the . has been by the North American ALF of Canadian origin. The organization specializes in releasing animals from
