Targeting the food supply has been a war tactic since ancient civilizations burned fields and salted soil to destroy crops. Today, the economic impact could be disastrous to farmers who depend on the public’s trust in food production and distribution.

Several attacks occurred in Wisconsin during the 1990s, most often caused by extremist environmental groups and disgruntled farm workers.

In 1996, a cow carcass was intentionally contaminated with the pesticide chlordane and sent to an animal rendering plant where it was added to feed. More than 4,000 tons of potentially contaminated animal feed was sent to 4,000 farms in four states, prompting a multimillion dollar product recall of dairy products and a $250 million loss to the feed company.

A similar type of incident occurred again in 1997 in which a fungicide was intentionally added to used restaurant animal grease, which was to be recycled into poultry feed. In 1999, investigators from 17 state, federal and local agencies tracked down and arrested the perpetrator, an owner of a rival feed company.

Also in the summer of 1999, an extremist animal rights group claimed responsibility for the release of 3,000 mink from fur farms and for setting a nearby feed mill on fire, causing $1.5 million in damage.