TPS holding 'food defense' drill today
by: ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
11/8/2011 10:59:54 AM
Tulsa Public Schools and local emergency responders will be conducting a "food defense" drill Tuesday.
Officials said evaluations of potential terrorist threats revealed that the school district's food production and distribution system could be vulnerable to attack from an individual or group wanting to cause public panic or harm to children and their families through the intentional contamination of food.
In addition to TPS officials, Tuesday's drill will involve the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, the Tulsa Health Department, emergency response and law enforcement agencies and local healthcare providers.
"Our job is to evaluate potential threats to our schools, and there is always the possibility that schools could become a target," said Bob Roberts, emergency management coordinator for TPS. "It's important that we act proactively to prevent the tampering of foods that are used in schools. We need to be prepared for emergency situations, to respond quickly and effectively if a crisis occurs and to have recovery plans in place.
The practice exercise will test our battle readiness and ensure that we are in the best possible shape to act should an event occur."
The exercise will be a discussion-based drill based on a Department of Agriculture toolkit that will guide participants through a mock scenario of an intentional food contamination in the schools. Read More
A couple of things crossed my mind when I read this. First was about how things have changed over the years. We've gone from nuclear attack drills now to food defense drills. And the second thought I had was that this should remind everyone how important a home-grown food supply really is. The quickest way that our country could lose it's sovereignty is by relying on other countries to produce the food and fiber we depend on. So when we see anti-agriculture groups trying to regulate farmers and ranchers out of business in this country they are really damaging our country's ability to survive. -Troy
Showing posts with label food supply. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food supply. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Activists Threaten Food Supply
Ruling Imperils Sugar Production
By BILL TOMSON
Wall Street Journal
U.S. sugar production will be cut by about 20% if farmers are banned from planting genetically modified beets next year, according to data prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a court case over whether to continue allowing the practice.
Genetically modified beets have come to account for 95% of the U.S. sugar-beet crop in the five years since they were approved by the Agriculture Department. But in August, a judge threw out the USDA's initial approval for the use of genetically modified seeds, saying it hadn't done enough research into the environmental impact. The department says the studies the judge required will take about two years.
That triggered concerns there wouldn't be enough traditional sugar-beet seeds for next spring's planting season, as many seed producers had switched to genetically modified varieties. It takes about two years to produce seeds.
Sugar beets, from which sugar is processed, will account for about 60% of domestic U.S. production this year.
If farmers can't plant genetically modified seeds next spring, a shortage of traditional seeds would likely cut 1.6 million tons from next year's sugar-beet crop, according to a declaration by the USDA prepared by Daniel Colacicco, director of the department's dairy and sweetener analysis group. The government has forecast next year's crop at 8.1 million tons. Read More
By BILL TOMSON
Wall Street Journal
U.S. sugar production will be cut by about 20% if farmers are banned from planting genetically modified beets next year, according to data prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a court case over whether to continue allowing the practice.
Genetically modified beets have come to account for 95% of the U.S. sugar-beet crop in the five years since they were approved by the Agriculture Department. But in August, a judge threw out the USDA's initial approval for the use of genetically modified seeds, saying it hadn't done enough research into the environmental impact. The department says the studies the judge required will take about two years.
That triggered concerns there wouldn't be enough traditional sugar-beet seeds for next spring's planting season, as many seed producers had switched to genetically modified varieties. It takes about two years to produce seeds.
Sugar beets, from which sugar is processed, will account for about 60% of domestic U.S. production this year.
If farmers can't plant genetically modified seeds next spring, a shortage of traditional seeds would likely cut 1.6 million tons from next year's sugar-beet crop, according to a declaration by the USDA prepared by Daniel Colacicco, director of the department's dairy and sweetener analysis group. The government has forecast next year's crop at 8.1 million tons. Read More
This falls in line with the typical “shoot first, ask questions later” approach by anti-ag groups in their efforts to force agriculture to change without looking at the consequences. Many of these groups have a similar philosophy to roll ag back 100 years in it’s technology use. What they don’t realize is that these types of things reduce our ability to grow food at the exact time we need to be increasing our output. All of these efforts come from people that live very comfortably and don’t worry about being able to afford food. Those that live on a budget or don’t know where their next meal is coming from would certainly disagree with these elitist attacks on our food production system.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Preventing Agroterrorism
Preventing terrorism in the food industry
By Geni Wren Friday, April 30, 2010
Agriculture and our food supply is not immune from terrorism, however, the good news is that the potential remains lower than one might think. History shows us that agricultural or food supply terrorism has traditionally not worked that well.
Speaking at the Animal Agriculture Alliance meeting in Arlington, Va., this week, Homeland Security Today editor David Silverberg described some early attempts at livestock and food supply terrorism that failed. For instance, during World War I, there was a determined effort by the Germans to kill their enemies’ horses and mules with anthrax and glanders in Romania, Spain, Norway, Argentina and the U.S. “It was one of the largest and well-organized animal sabotage attempts,” explained Silverberg (who showed a WWI photo of a horse wearing a gas mask),” but it just did not work very well.”
During WWII, Japan had an active biological program against the Soviet Union in Mongolia. He said that Japanese agents used anthrax and rinderpest and in 1931 tried to poison a League of Nations delegation with cholera-tainted fruit. That effort also failed.
More recently in 1979, the Arab Revolutionary Council poisoned Israeli oranges with mercury, disrupting Israeli trade. The problem with that tactic is that is damaged other countries’ trade. “It showed the unpredictability of agroterrorism,” Silverberg said. “They got everyone mad at them and did not achieved their larger political objective.” Read More
Agroterrorism certainly needs to be taken seriously. Besides the examples given in this article, there are many others. The FBI’s number one domestic terrorist threat is the Animal Liberation Front. These folks have terrorized many farms and ranches across the country. Whether it’s turning livestock loose, destroying research facilities, or trying to kill researchers, they employ terrorism as their main weapon. Taking precautions and keeping our eyes open for suspicious behavior in rural areas is our first line of defense for our food supply. Unfortunately that is the world we live in today so everyone needs to be part of the solution.
By Geni Wren Friday, April 30, 2010
Agriculture and our food supply is not immune from terrorism, however, the good news is that the potential remains lower than one might think. History shows us that agricultural or food supply terrorism has traditionally not worked that well.
Speaking at the Animal Agriculture Alliance meeting in Arlington, Va., this week, Homeland Security Today editor David Silverberg described some early attempts at livestock and food supply terrorism that failed. For instance, during World War I, there was a determined effort by the Germans to kill their enemies’ horses and mules with anthrax and glanders in Romania, Spain, Norway, Argentina and the U.S. “It was one of the largest and well-organized animal sabotage attempts,” explained Silverberg (who showed a WWI photo of a horse wearing a gas mask),” but it just did not work very well.”
During WWII, Japan had an active biological program against the Soviet Union in Mongolia. He said that Japanese agents used anthrax and rinderpest and in 1931 tried to poison a League of Nations delegation with cholera-tainted fruit. That effort also failed.
More recently in 1979, the Arab Revolutionary Council poisoned Israeli oranges with mercury, disrupting Israeli trade. The problem with that tactic is that is damaged other countries’ trade. “It showed the unpredictability of agroterrorism,” Silverberg said. “They got everyone mad at them and did not achieved their larger political objective.” Read More
Agroterrorism certainly needs to be taken seriously. Besides the examples given in this article, there are many others. The FBI’s number one domestic terrorist threat is the Animal Liberation Front. These folks have terrorized many farms and ranches across the country. Whether it’s turning livestock loose, destroying research facilities, or trying to kill researchers, they employ terrorism as their main weapon. Taking precautions and keeping our eyes open for suspicious behavior in rural areas is our first line of defense for our food supply. Unfortunately that is the world we live in today so everyone needs to be part of the solution.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Freezing Florida
Florida crops suffer millions in damage from cold
BY JOHN FRANK
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson estimated the price tag from the extended freeze in the hundreds of millions of dollars, though he cautioned the extent of the damage is still largely unknown.
"This is the longest duration of cold in 60 years,'' he said.
In a Wednesday briefing for lawmakers, Bronson said preliminary reports show at least 30 percent of the state's crops were destroyed when below freezing temperatures gripped the state for nearly two weeks.
"That doesn't mean we lost everything,'' he cautioned. "We are hoping they can salvage as much as they can.''
Now that temperatures have thawed, damage assessment teams are visiting farmers throughout the state to get a better picture of what was lost. But already it's clear that fish farmers took the biggest hit with most losing their entire stock. And pole bean prices shot from $10 a crate before the freeze to $45 a crate this week, Bronson said. For strawberries, citrus and squash, it's a waiting game to see what is left after the protective ice melts from the crops.
Read More
It’s a testament to our outstanding food supply system and the hard work of farmers that food is still readily available after all of the hardships agriculture has faced lately. Between water shortages in California, horrible planting and harvesting conditions in the heartland and now killer frosts in our southernmost regions, food should be scarcer than it is. But I can guarantee that you will not be seeing any empty grocery store shelves anytime soon.
BY JOHN FRANK
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson estimated the price tag from the extended freeze in the hundreds of millions of dollars, though he cautioned the extent of the damage is still largely unknown.
"This is the longest duration of cold in 60 years,'' he said.
In a Wednesday briefing for lawmakers, Bronson said preliminary reports show at least 30 percent of the state's crops were destroyed when below freezing temperatures gripped the state for nearly two weeks.
"That doesn't mean we lost everything,'' he cautioned. "We are hoping they can salvage as much as they can.''
Now that temperatures have thawed, damage assessment teams are visiting farmers throughout the state to get a better picture of what was lost. But already it's clear that fish farmers took the biggest hit with most losing their entire stock. And pole bean prices shot from $10 a crate before the freeze to $45 a crate this week, Bronson said. For strawberries, citrus and squash, it's a waiting game to see what is left after the protective ice melts from the crops.
Read More
It’s a testament to our outstanding food supply system and the hard work of farmers that food is still readily available after all of the hardships agriculture has faced lately. Between water shortages in California, horrible planting and harvesting conditions in the heartland and now killer frosts in our southernmost regions, food should be scarcer than it is. But I can guarantee that you will not be seeing any empty grocery store shelves anytime soon.
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