The statistics on the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Britain make for disturbing reading. Four million cattle were culled to contain the disease, and estimates of the cost to the British economy―primarily to the agriculture and tourism industries―run as high as ￡30 billion (US$48 billion). The outbreak was unintentional, probably the result of illegal imports of infected meat being fed to pigs. But it can also be seen as an expensive warning. Although smallpox and anthrax receive the bulk of government and media attention when it comes to assessing the risk of bioterrorism, a deliberate attack on agriculture could disrupt trade and cripple agricultural industries. The risk of human fatalities or a serious food shortage is low, but few events would cause more economic damage than attacking the food supply. "The British FMD epidemic has given a blueprint to any terrorist," says Martin Hugh-Jones, a veterinary epidemiologist at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
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