America entered a new era on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The horrific hijackings and tragic loss of human life sent shivers down our spines and filled our hearts with sorrow. As a result of the terrorist assaults and subsequent spread of anthrax, millions of Americans now carry out their daily lives with varying degrees of anxiety and uncertainty.
For those in America's heartland, where some may feel perhaps a greater sense of security than those living on the Eastern seaboard, a different risk exists as the nation's breadbasket arguably poses a ripe target for agroterrorism.
A deliberate sabotage of the nation's food supply would wreak substantial economic and humanitarian consequences. For farm families, agroterrorism bears significant risk to personal property and livelihood. When outbreaks of mad cow and foot and mouth diseases recently scourged the livestock industry in Great Britain, government officials at the federal, state and local levels, farmers and agribusiness leaders took steps to prevent the devastating disease from
hitting the domestic livestock industry. But the events since Sept. 11 have put American agriculture on an even higher state of alert.
Consider the grounding of all U.S. crop dusting aircraft shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. The federal government is taking every precaution to protect the food supply. And still there's much more that can and must be done to protect the integrity of our food systems and keep consumer confidence strong.
Don't forget that farmers aren't the only stakeholders in the effort to maintain a steady, safe and stable food supply. Spending only 10 cents on each dollar earned for food, the American consumer enjoys the most affordable and abundant food supply available in the world. America's farmers also produce enough to feed millions of mouths abroad, exporting about one-third of annual production.
What's more, American agriculture also helps anchor the U.S. economy, accounting for some 22 million jobs and generating one in six of the nation's gross national product dollars.
So even in the less populated areas of the Midwest, terrorism leaves no room for complacency. Developing counter terrorism measures in advance is the best weapon we can produce to help protect America's farm families and the nation's food supply.
And an animal health research program with roots established since 1905 at Iowa State University holds a key position in the U.S. arsenal to safeguard American agriculture from bioterrorism. An arm of USDA's Agricultural Research Service, the National Animal Disease Center in Ames and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory serves a critical link in the international food chain. By conducting valuable knowledge research and development on animal diseases and technology, the Center provides arguably the most reliable scientific information available to livestock producers, government officials, academics, policy makers and commodity group members who are charged with education, prevention and enforcement to help stop outbreaks of pathogens, infections and diseases from crippling the domestic livestock industry. The NVSL provides the diagnostics needed to determine the type of disease, giving us current information and thus, how to handle any threatening situation.
The state-of-the-art center in Ames, which houses one of the largest animal health facilities found anywhere in the world, focuses on keeping the economic vitality of animal agriculture intact by rooting out diseases or infections that could devastate the livestock and poultry industry and curbing contamination that may introduce food-borne human pathogens into the food supply.
As the only working family farmer in the U.S. Senate, I bring unique perspective to the policymaking tables in Washington. I understand what it's like to rise before dawn and tend to a sick animal or to miss family events and arrive late for holiday dinners because the livestock also needs to be fed 365 days a year.
As a farmer-legislator, I work hard to remind my urban-oriented colleagues that food doesn't grow on the grocery store shelves. And now more than ever before, it's critical for consumers and lawmakers not to take our food supply for granted.
That's why I pushed to provide $40 million in federal funds to modernize the labs in Ames to help its scientists stay one step ahead of the terrorists. The Senate recently passed the agriculture appropriations conference report that includes $73.8 billion in USDA spending for fiscal 2002, including the $40 million in modernization funds for the Ames center.
The National Animal Disease Center has formed strong partnerships with the international scientific community as well as extensive cooperation through state programs across the country that work with industry, farm and commodity organizations and regulatory agencies to address threats to domestic animal agriculture. It makes sense to beef up an operation that already is up and running and has the experience and expertise in place to safeguard the livestock industry and enhance American agriculture's biosecurity.