This is copied from AOL's news screen. I wish I could grow more of my own food. Us countrysidersare on the right track anyway.

Officials Worry About Food Supply

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials are worried that the nation's food supply could turn into the next form of attack: The government considers potential targets to be fruits and vegetables that people eat raw and cattle that could be infected with fast-spreading foot-and-mouth disease. To deter potential terrorists, Congress is considering proposals to hire hundreds of new food inspectors and lab technicians and empower the government to seize or recall tainted products and inspect food makers' records.

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), October 25, 2001

Answers

The risk have always been there even without 9/11. I love the news media coverage. The terrorist never have to do anything again and the media will scare the public silly.

You do know what the solution to this problem is dont you???? Irradiation of ALL foods!!!!! >fruits and vegetables that people eat raw >Cattle that could be infected with fast-spreading foot-and-mouth disease

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), October 26, 2001.

Thank God we are homesteaders!!! most of us can do just fine with out the grocery store for 6 mos to a year. Sure it would be no fun but we can do it, and if we get a supply of seed we can do it for even longer. The government hasn't any way of protecting us from such attacks. My brother in the service now for nearly 18 years, says that riot control training has become a priority. I suspect that the government hopes to control a panic-stricken and dying mass. Hope I'm wrong.

-- Del (dgrinolds@gvtel.com), October 26, 2001.

As usual, the news media is trying to scare the c*#p out of the population! When "they" don't have news, they speculate! Let's put it this way--the sky COULD fall tomorrow or the world could explode too. Now you understand why I don't listen to the news often?!

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), October 26, 2001.

I do not understand why you would NOT want to know about a possible contamination. People get pissed when the gov't dosn't tell them how serious a threat is, they get pissed when the gov't over reacts or under reacts, they get pissed when the gov't suggests there may be a threat, and they get pissed when the gov't does not forsee the threat. If you know, you can at least keep a calm head when it happens, instead of freaking out. I am sure you would sing a different tune if your food were messed with. If you wish to remain in the dark, and cry in outrage later, thats your business. I am glad that Gene posted this, and I think we can use the info to respond POSITIVE and just use a level head. (I don't think I want tons of people to fall sick before the government spends money to inspect food.)

-- notnow (notnow05@yahoo.com), October 26, 2001.

An Oct 24 Chicago Tribune article on anthrax said “Iowa State U has long studied the disease that has made the mail deadly, but its experts see a bigger threat on the horizon.” Anthrax is an ANIMAL disease, and infecting animals would have a different effect than sending a few spores through the mail. Look what foot & mouth disease did in Europe. You might recall the problems in Michigan a few years back when fertilizer was accidentally mixed into dairy cattle feed. These concerns come not from govt bureacrats: they are scientists and veterinarians at ISU, and the USDA Ames Research Station, two of the top ag research facilities in the nation. And the Iowa Ag Dept formed a task force to deal with this———last spring. They stepped it up after 911. A double whammy: make people sick and/or scared, AND cripple the US farm economy.

-- jd belanger (belanger@tds.net), October 26, 2001.

Does anyone know if animals also get Anthrax in the same three forms' humans do? (I assume an animal with Anthrax that is used for meat will give humans the gastronomical form. Is that true?)

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), October 26, 2001.

I work for a federal agency in Washington, DC, a block and a half from the White House and I drive by the Pentagon every day. Obviously, everything that has happened in the last couple of months has hit very close to me. It is interesting how your perspective changes when you read something in the news versus when it is happening right where you are. I personally want to know every little tidbit of news that they are willing to give me. I will be the judge of how panicked I will become. I am lucky in that my home is fifty miles out of Washington but I still have to come to work every day. They have removed all of the mail boxes from our building (these were mounted in the walls), we are not receiving any mail because our agency receives our mail through the Brentwood postal office. Have we been exposed? Don't know yet because we haven't been tested. Our mail room personnel are getting tested now. I don't know where the next few weeks/months will take us but I am going there with my eyes wide open and that can only be so by receiving information and processing it. As a homesteader, I am a planner and preparer for any kind of disaster which may strike. As a person, I am very level-headed and don't panic easily. But I can tell you that DH and I have done a lot of discussion in the last couple of months on how prepared we plan to be for anything. Trust me, it is a whole different ball game when it is all happening to you rather than reading about it in a newspaper.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), October 26, 2001.

Colleen, I admire your spunk. It is different when you live it than when you read it. I'm from Oklahoma and lived through the bombing, so I know how you must feel. Continually preparing for the disasters can give you a sense of control in a time of uncertainty. Methodical purpose also helps. I am also grateful for all the news. I'd rather go down making a choice than never having the power to live that thought. I would be interested to learn about your disaster plans. I haven't been homesteading long and am basically starting my own plans from scratch. For instance, I recently spoke to a nurse hotline regarding my "flu-like symptoms" and was scolded for not owning a thermometer. I've been using the lips to forehead method for so long, it never really occurred to me that I needed anything as simple as a thermometer for my disaster kit. I guess the first thing I need for my disaster plan is a piece of paper and a pencil. Thank you for sharing your story and please know that my prayers and positive thoughts will be with you and all the people of Washington. My husband is a postal employee, so we are on guard constantly ourselves. Kinda makes for a thrilling life, doesn't it? Stay safe and don't forget to get plenty of rest. Iris

-- Iris (Sar_India@msn.com), October 26, 2001.

Our prayers are with you Colleen, as well as all of the victims of these terrorist acts.

-- brenclark (brenclark@alltel.net), October 27, 2001.

jd is right. I lived through the Michigan fiasco and we lost our shirts while everyone was trying to pretend that there was no problem. I have spoken with the people that we do business with at the mill and was deeply concerned about their lack of concern. They provide feed to several big places and have no security to speak of. When I asked what their plan was they just said that they were too small for anyone to mess with.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), October 27, 2001.