Assignment task:
Please comment on the passages below with insight:
A threat often not considered and an industry that is taken for granted is that of agriculture. Agriculture is the corner stone of a nation, a countries ability to grow and maintain its own food is critical to its continued growth and existence. With the modern day and global economics, it is often taken for granted, particularly in America, that food can be received any day at any time even food not locally grown, out of season, or nowhere near a location it could be obtained from. Fresh fish is flown into Las Vegas from the coast on ice sheets, avocados flown from Mexico to Washington state, and a variety of other examples. It is estimated as of 2015 there were upwards of 2.1 million farms producing food for the nation to both citizens within the nation and those visiting (CISA, 2015).
One of the most crucial functions of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is safeguarding the nation's food supply. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) heavily depends on the USDA to protect the food supply of the United States from potential threats such as terrorism, natural disasters, and public health epidemics. This interconnectivity ensures the long-term durability of the country's agricultural industry, therefore protecting both economic solvency and public welfare (Hinrichs, 2013).
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) play an important role in public health planning because of the USDA's crucial role in safeguarding the nation's food chain, which is directly linked to national security and public health. The USDA oversees critical infrastructure in agriculture, including the production, distribution, and safety of food, which aligns with DHS's mission of protecting vital infrastructure sectors from a range of threats. These threats can come in various forms, including natural disasters, bioterrorism, and pandemics. The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-7) explicitly prioritizes the protection of critical infrastructure, which includes agriculture and food systems, as any disruption to these sectors would have severe consequences on public health and economic stability.