In Brief

U.S. Slow to Respond to Agroterrorism Threat

The threat of terrorism against U.S. agriculture and food production received scant attention prior to 9/11.

By Todd Datz

"We're terribly inefficient in how we approach food safety," says Jerry Gillespie, director of the Western Institute "for Food Safety and Security at the University of California, Davis. "Different agencies have different legislative authority."

It's also unclear who would be in charge if there were a terrorist incident, says Gillespie, given the number of agencies that could be involved on the local, state and national levels.

"I think we need to get organized so we know who's in charge. We need some coordination. Whether we can get it, I don't know, but we need it at the top level. If something happens on the ground, expending energy on who gets to call the shots is not effective," he says.

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