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B. RASCO, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6376 and G. BLEDSOE, Dean of Research, Nowthwest Indian College, 2522 Kwina Road, Bellingham, WA 98226.

There is an increasing international threat from terrorists and terrorist groups against food research, production and processing. Actions by these groups can be extremely well organized and orchestrated commonly employing both overt and covert methodology to damage or destroy property or commerce, threaten public health and safety, and emotionally damage people. Many individuals engaged in food terrorism may be well-intentioned people from the animal rights, consumer protection, and environmental conservation movements. Still other acts may be initiated by labor or farmers who feel threatened by innovation. Such food terrorism is directed against perceived injustices, and while the acts are not necessarily encompassed within the realm of conventional terrorist activities, the results most often are. Finally, attacks against a country's crops and livestock remain a viable aggressive weapon in the strategic planning of many governments, particularly those with reduced conventional weaponry. Objectives of food terrorism may include: the desire to severely impact a company and put it out of business by affecting the stock price, or product availability or marketability in a malicious way; a program directed towards the elimination of a specific food, ingredient or agricultural practice; a prohibition on importation of competing crops; impediment to research or development in a particular area; and erection of trade barriers. Many food terrorism methods are cheap and simple, such as flooding a company by mail, phone or electronically with harassing correspondence or repeated requests for information, filing consumer complaints, and entering tampering threats. Other tactics may include: spurious complaints to regulatory agencies, media "tips", filing frivolous law suits, boycotts, lock-outs, and publicity stunts. Unfortunately bombings, fire, product tampering including poisonings, crop destruction, vandalism, or the threats of all of these; and targeted harassment of employees, suppliers and customers are becoming tactics that are all too commonly employed. Effective methods for reducing the impact of food terrorism on businesses including: employee screening or vetting, minimizing exposure, compartmentalization, security and well planned public relations programs will be covered. Also, the legal and economic issues associated with counterterrorist activities will be addressed.