What’s the connection between the family farm and the FBI? National security.
Special agent Scott Mahloch is the Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator out of the Milwaukee office. He says the FBI pays careful attention to the many facets of the food supply chain ranging from on-farm technology to the cattle on pasture.
Mahloch says he wants to get the word out to the agricultural community that there are a lot of vulnerabilities within the food supply chain — at the farm, in the truck, at the processor, and at the grocery store. Why? Maloch explains there are threats out there to the U.S. food system.
“There are countless examples that are out there of people… that have expressed a desire to disrupt the farm-to-fork continuum or disrupt that logistics supply chain,” he says. “Think about if you aren’t able to get milk or get food for your family. What consequences those would have for the population?”
He says threats are both international and domestic. Oftentimes, the insider threat is the most dangerous. Insiders are trusted individuals who have motives to attack the farm or agribusiness, such as disgruntled employees or family members.
“Traditionally, people think of the terrorist organizations… but we also look at the insider threat,” he says. “There’s a ton of insider threat indicators that are out there, maybe it’s greed, maybe it’s ideological differences… whatever it is… the insider threat can certainly cause a lot of harm.”
Scott says there are several departments beyond his own that watch agriculture and the food system closely. Threats go beyond biohazards and can be cyber-related or intellectual property-related, for example.
