Yes. Probably the largest of these happened in the mid-1990s. In rural Wisconsin, the products going into cattle feed were intentionally contaminated with chlordane insecticide. The event resulted in a recall of feed and other products from several states. The total impact to the agricultural system was close to $250 million. Wisconsin’s secretary of agriculture called this contamination an act of “domestic terrorism.”
Finished food products have also been used as a means to harm people. Consumers were the target of an attack in The Dalles, Oregon, in 1984 when followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh tried to influence local elections by spraying Salmonella typhimurium on food in salad bars of 10 restaurants, making more than 700 people very sick.
Numerous cases have occurred where members of activist groups within the United States have targeted animal operations, greenhouses, test plots, other farm-level operations, research labs, and universities.
