ANTI-CROP BIOTERRORISM SYMPOSIUM, AUGUST 1999
Beth von Gunten (colibri@west.net)
Wed, 11 Aug 1999 18:41:58 -0800
ANTI-CROP BIOTERRORISM SYMPOSIUM, AUGUST 1999
Source: American Phytopathological Society
Plant Pathologists to Discuss Anti-Crop Bioterrorism and Food
Security August 1999
Most people have heard of the Irish potato famine and other
plant diseases that have wiped out a country's staple crop.
Throughout history, there have been many famines and epidemics as
a result of disease. What if they were caused deliberately? Many
people are aware of the threat of biological weapons directed
towards people, but few realize the potential dire effects of crop
bioterrorism, the use of pathogens to cause a food crop epidemic
or contamination of our food supply.
According to Norm Schaad, USDA-ARS Foreign Disease-Weed
Science Research Unit and member of the American Phytopathological
Society, "Our current agriculture infrastructure is susceptible to
disease outbreaks resulting from bioterrorism. As members of the
plant science community we are aware of the risk and feel it's
important to interact with other scientists and agencies in a
cooperative effort to review the issues.''
A symposium to bring together plant pathologists, military
intelligence and criminal experts to discuss anti-crop bioterrorism
will be held during the joint American Phytopathological Society
(APS) and Canadian Phytopathological Society (CPS) Annual Meeting
in Montreal, Canada. This session will feature speakers from
federal agencies, universities and the private sector convened by
Anne Vidaver, University of Nebraska. "This is the first
international symposium being held to create an awareness among
individuals with expertise in the agricultural scientific community
to develop measures against crop bioterrorism,'' says Schaad.
Jan Leach, Kansas State University, will discuss proposed
strategies to minimize potential threats to the U.S. food supply.
"Proactive development of crops with novel and broad spectrum
resistances to plant disease may hinder the success of altered
organisms,'' says Leach. "This is an active area of research by
plant pathologists today.''
"More funding for and emphasis on pathogen identification as
well as a formal national procedure for surveying and reporting new
plant diseases could reduce the destructive effects of deliberate
pathogen releases,'' says Bob Forster, University of Idaho Research
and Extension Centre.
Forster, Leach and Schaad as well as Thomas Frazier, GenCon;
Wallace Deen, private consultant; David Huxsoll, Louisiana State
University; Larry Madden, Ohio State University; Robert Hickson,
USAF Academy and D.E. Wilson, FBI Laboratory will present their
views on ways of approaching anti-crop bioterrorism during this
symposium.
The symposium on plant pathology's role in combatting
anti-crop bioterrorism and promoting food security, will be held
at the APS/CPS Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada on Tuesday,
August 10 at 2 p.m. Complimentary registration is available for
reporters and science writers, please contact Kathleen Koegler,
APS, at +1.651.454.7250 or kkoegler@scisoc.org.
The American Phytopathological Society (APS) is an
international professional scientific organization dedicated to the
study and control of plant disease with 5000 members worldwide. For
more information on APS, visit the website at http://www.scisoc.org
or contact APS Headquarters at +1.651.454.7250, aps@scisoc.org.
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