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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON AGROTERRORISM ANNOUNCED
Dec. 13, 2010
Source: International Association on Agroterrorism news release
The Heart of America Joint Terrorism Task Force (HOA-JTTF) in conjunction with the Kansas City Division of the FBI, having identified the threat associated with a potential agroterrorism incident to be of great concern, initiated the concept of an opportunity to bring together the public and private sectors; including government and law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels, academia, the scientific community; the health, medical and veterinary professions and private industry, to identify the most significant issues relevant to terrorism incidents/threats involving the food and agricultural sectors. These initial discussions led to the development of the International Symposium on Agroterrorism (ISA).
The inaugural ISA event was held May 2-5, 2005, in Kansas City, MO. The event brought together over 800 individuals from all 50 states and eight foreign countries. In addition to subject matter experts, prominent speakers included U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Building upon the success of the prior ISA events, which have each time assembled nearly 1000 attendees from more than 20 different countries, we strive to present a balance between current topical material and highly recognized subject matter experts. Each of the three held ISA events has balanced the most prominent keynote speakers and coordinated break-out sessions that include specific case studies to illustrate the importance of the coordinated effort necessary to protect the food supply. The 2008 ISA event featured a topic related table top exercise that was very well received and successful in both its execution and completion.
The ISA is unique in its structure in that it provides an opportunity for the attendees to not only hear world-renowned experts describing relevant topics of concern, but also to interact one-on-one with industry professionals facing similar issues. The benefit of assembling representatives from such a variety of disciplines under a single roof demonstrates the need to understand the problem and work together to solve and prevent what could be a devastating and/or catastrophic situation.
In order to continue this dialogue, the fourth ISA event is scheduled for April 26, 27, and 28, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency and Westin Crown Center Hotels in Kansas City, MO. It will focus on the need to closely communicate and coordinate among private industry, law enforcement, government agencies, science, academia and the health and medical professions in order to protect the global food supply. Topics to be discussed will include physical security, biosecurity, intelligence and information sharing, economic and trade concerns, and transportation issues.
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