THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SECTORS MANAGEMENT OF RISK IN REGARDS TO THE NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION PLAN (NIPP)
Matthew Whitworth
Private Sector Homeland Security HLSS305 May 23, 2015
The Food and Agriculture Sector is a critical component to the sustainment of the nation’s infrastructure. The Food and Agriculture Sector provides the nation with sustenance through food and water and is deemed a critical infrastructure and key resource (CIKR). If successfully attacked through a biological/chemical means, the effects on the nation could be detrimental. The Food and Agriculture Sector is considered a critical infrastructure and key resource for the United States. “Interference with the food or agricultural infrastructure could
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It has many components that are completely separate from one another, but are interdependent on one another to successfully function. In an effort to mitigate risk from terrorist attacks, such as a biochemical attack, or natural contamination, the Food and Agriculture Sector must address each aspect of the sector independently. From developing goals and objectives and assessing risks, to implementing programs for prevention and measuring effectiveness. Once all aspects are developed and examined, then the Food and Agriculture Sector can analyze the data and look at the sector holistically. The Food and Agriculture Sector must stay vigilant in its effort of safe practices and continually update and revisit any weaknesses. With a sector that spans the country and has entities overseas, ensuring positive control and safety of livestock and crops is a difficult task. Without proper metrics to assess risks and the inability to effectively prioritize infrastructure, funding will remain limited. The Food and Agriculture Sector will have to continue utilizing the limited funding received and determine the most critical areas to distribute the funding
Nestle, Marion. Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
The United States was built on an agrarian system. The ability to grow crops helped create an economic backbone for the county. The use of fertilizer became a norm in farming and agriculture and was not considered a potentially harmful substance. Modern science in combination with the terrorist mind has looked at fertilizer as a weapon, particularly those containing ammonium nitrate. The Ammonium Nitrate Security Program shows how far the United States has progressed by regressing when the issue of terrorism is presented into the conversation. Terrorists are using readily available tools which can be purchased legally without knowledge of law enforcement personnel.
The goal of 2011 of the National Preparedness Goal, and a month later by the National Preparedness System (NPS). ‘Prepare’, or ‘preparedness’ is a key term here, as is ‘risk’. In order to properly examine the National Preparedness System these terms… (2011 National Preparedness Goal). The National Preparedness Goal can only work in risk management planning with prudency coupled with dispensation of resources at the local levels. Depending on the budgetary issues the financial appropriation might not be enough to sustain a carefully planned risk management. The forefront for the local authorities to mitigate against risk is funding. Of the pro at the community level are the loyalties of its employees of the local government and local community, and on hand resources that amplifies its footprint with the community in making sure that there is an uninterrupted continuation of life. The local government can device a well thought out plan to activate most of its resources when the alarms are sounded of a pending
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) helps keep the health of food in place and checks for any abnormalities in our foods (“Safety Inspections.”). Any food that is processed outside of the United States is sent to a certain port through which the USDA can inspect and clear these imports to make sure they are safe for consumer consumption. The Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program is a program within the USDA that helps find and dispose of any inflected plants or animals (“Agriculture Quarantine Inspection.”). The AQI will analyze the risk this disease and possibly find a way to treat it. The trucks or aircraft used in the transportation of the infected product are also inspected to stop the spread of the disease. Governmental programs and services of this
Food insecurity is defined by those who either do not have enough or are at real risk of not having enough food for their family. In May of 2009, there were approximately 38 million Americans defined as food insecure. That number grew to nearly 49 million 6 months later, and today there are over 50 million food insecure Americans (1 out of every 6). I find this astounding, because about 30 percent of all produce is thrown away before it even reaches the grocery store. Why? Because of cosmetic imperfections that are stipulated by large grocers that decide how produce should look. That is roughly 100 billion pounds of food a year or 1 pound per American per day that is being wasted because they aren’t pretty. America has begun to cater to only the perfectionist shoppers and has forgotten about those who do not have the money to purchase highly-priced produce. One of the ways we can start to solve this problem is through minimizing food waste at the beginning of the chain. Farmers typically throw away roughly 30 percent of all produce because they do not meet the guidelines for color, shape or number of blemishes. Instead, we should be following the
We know that food hazards have the potential to cause serious damage to the body. Many sicknesses transmitted by foods can lead to adverse health effects, such as chronic conditions, injuries, and debilities. By looking at how many cases of foodborne illness are reported, we’re able to identify the prevalence of food hazards in that location at a certain point in time. In 2006 alone, the CDC reported over 27.5 thousand documented outbreaks of foodborne disease in the United States (Friis, 2012). That being said, it’s clear that as a nation we still struggle to ensure that our food is safe for consumption by the consumer. Even with all of the modern technology, guidelines, and regulations in place, food hazards are still able to reach the general population. However, it’s important to consider that the fault is not always due to errors in quality control during production and manufacturing. Once in the hands of the consumer, there’s a lot of room for error. This is the single biggest contributor to the number of reported cases of foodborne illness. In the United States, one of the world’s most developed nations, the prevalence of foodborne illness and disease remains high because the majority of the population is not educated well enough on the subject and often
Does anyone ever think about the effect going hungry has on a person’s overall health? Yes, they may not be obese as the rest of the country, but there are other health effects that directly affect a person when it comes to being food insecure. Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Hunger in the United States affects so many people, more than one realizes for a country that is so well established. Huger affects children, seniors, different cultures, people that live in the rural areas of the country, and even the working class Americans in your surrounding communities, essentially your neighbors! Our government has established a few programs to help
Did you know that one in five households in the United States are considered to have food insecurity. Food insecurity is described by the USDA as meaning “consistent access to adequate food is limited by the lack of money and other resources at times during the year” (2014). This affects 31 million people in the United States, which includes 15.9 million children under the age of 18. For example, the Walls family in The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls leaves a great example of what it is like to be under these circumstances. Currently, with prices of food rising to an all time high, so does the number of people not able to buy the basic foods they need to live a full life. By increasing spending on food benefit programs in the United States, guarantees less people who suffer from food insecurity.
Decades later, and even in a new age of American “freedom” and “opportunities,” not much has really changed. In the American food industry, the presence of an oppressive class system is very rampant; hidden from view, but influential as ever. Because the way the food reaches our plates straight from the stores makes it seem like a simple method of growing and transporting, the complex system, or system of systems, is very much hidden behind a wall of what it seems to be. Citizens fail to realize that in this food supply chain, everyone plays a vital role, whether directly or passively contributing to the system. In 1880, roughly “80% of Americans worked in agriculture toiling to feed themselves and others,” which is now reduced to 2% of Americans
Around the late 19th century displeasurable and unfair actions have been acted toward farmers, working men, and minorities. The Industrialist took advantage of their lack of power, and bribed government officials and pursed corruption actions towards laborers. However, the loudest voice of the group was the Agrarian workers and American Farmers. Ask yourself, was the farmers outcry's pure pointless complaints towards Industrialist malicious actions or potential abuse that impedes an unbalanced industrialized society? Farmers were falling into unprofitable production and debt using all the profit innovating machines the government encouraged them to use. Foreign products led to unprofitable life, and farmers fell into a depression. Many parties were formed to speak what was on their mind, one of the main parties includes the populist party, fighting for what should be truthfully theirs.
The public becomes anxious about the food safety for some frequently occurred agriculture products’ safety accidents in recent years. To minimize the hidden danger of
follow regulations and guidelines in all areas of production. Agro terrorism is an important issue
Food insecurity and poor nutrition is an alarmingly large problem for low income families, especially in developing countries. Many strategies exist to fight this problem, although not many of these address all the factors contributing to it along with all the possible solutions to solve it. In many cases, multiple strategies must correlate and work together so that all the determinants of this issue are addressed and can fight food insecurity from different angles. This essay will discuss the significance of the problem, a range of possible strategies to solve the problem, and go into detail on a select few that will correlate and work together to solve different factors of food insecurity and poor nutrition.
Did you know that 5,000 kids in Calgary go to school every day without food?
To understand why is agriculture important in the world of today, then first of all we must know what agriculture is? Agriculture is the basic material production of society, the use of land for agriculture and livestock, mining plants and animals as raw materials and labor to produce mainly food and some raw materials for industry. Agriculture is a major industry, covering many disciplines: planting, breeding and processing of agricultural products; in the broadest sense, also including forestry and fisheries. Agriculture is an important economic sector in the economy of many countries, especially in the past century , when the industry has not yet developed. Since the dawn of history, agriculture has been one of the importance means of producing