ABSTRACT
Food and agriculture are critical national infrastructure elements, depending on water, energy, and transportation infrastructures for successful production and distribution. Production and consumption of foods is fraught with numerous risks: inclement weather, diseases or pests, product quarantine, environmental contamination, civil unrest, port closures, market competition, consumer preferences, capitalization, and trade barriers. Certain risks, such as dependence on weather or susceptibility to rust, are inherent vulnerabilities in food commodities; these risks may be intensified or managed and minimized by human agricultural choices and necessities. Other risks, such as spoilage in port, customs seizure, and opportunities to perpetrate food adulteration and fraud, are introduced or amplified through processing, packaging, and transportation involved in supplying international global food markets.
