Crop Biosecurity: Assuring our Global Food Supply (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security)

Agriculture is a key sector for the economy of many countries and it can be potentially exposed to deliberate attacks which can have dramatic economic consequences in the food, feed, and fibre sectors. Intentional introduction of certain microbes may have serious rebounds even on human health when food results contaminated after harvesting of crops and processing of raw materials. Programmes aimed at attacks against agriculture and the agro-food sector through bioweapons were conducted in the past and still in recent years this kind of threads are documented. Prevention and preparedness are the two basic approaches to maximize food security against any sort of tampering, whether natural, inadvertent or intentional. The NATO funded project “Tools for crop biosecurity” was designed to strengthen the cooperation among U.S., Europe and Israel in the field of crop biosecurity and to generate awareness on how the psychological, economic and cultural consequences of crop bioterrorism, especially attacks on soft targets such as crop seeds, could have a disproportionate adverse effect on Mediterranean agriculture and, more generally, on society. This book illustrates the achievements of the project originated from the workshops organized during the project itself taking in consideration main microbiological threads posed to crops, the tools to recognize and to control them, the needs for international cooperation and research funds to create networks which can face emerging risks for agriculture. Crop Biosecurity : Definitions And Role In Food Safety And Food Security / Maria Lodovica Gullino, Jacqueline Fletcher And James Peter Stack -- Scope Of The Project / Maria Lodovica Gullino -- Challenges To Crop Biosecurity / James Peter Stack -- High Consequence Plant Pathogens / Abraham Gamliel -- Crop Biosecurity : Local, National, Regional And Global Perspectives / Abraham Gamliel, Maria Lodovica Gullino And James Peter Stack -- The Need For Diagnostic Tools And Infrastructure / Federico Tinivella, Maria Lodovica Gullino And James Peter Stack -- Crop Biosecurity : Containment And Eradication Of Invasive Pathogens / Abraham Gamliel And Jacqueline Fletcher -- The Need For Forensic Tools In A Balanced National Agricultural Security Program / Jacqueline Fletcher -- The Need For Secure Communications Networks And Global Connectivity / James Peter Stack And Will Baldwin -- The Case For International Cooperation As A Strategy To Achieve Crop Biosecurity / Jacqueline Fletcher -- Crop And Food Biosecurity Research : Luxury Or Need? / Maria Lodovica Gullino, Abraham Gamliel, Jacqueline Fletcher And James Peter Stack -- Evaluation Of Critical Issues And Identification Of Research And Investments Needs In The Field Of Crop Biosecurity In Europe / Maria Lodovica Gullino, Abraham Gamliel And Jacqueline Fletcher -- European Commission's Green Paper On Bio-preparedness / Isabelle Bénoliel. Edited By Maria Lodovica Gullino ... [et Al.]. Proceedings Of The Combined Nato Collaborative Linkage Grant On Tools For Crop Biosecurity, Torino, Italy, 10-11 Nov. 2005, Giza, Egypt, 18-20 March 2006, Bet Dagan, Israel, 23-27 March 2006--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.