Dozens of foreign insects and plant diseases slipped undetected into the United States in the years after 9/11, when authorities were so focused on preventing another attack that they overlooked a pest explosion that threatened the quality of the nation’s food supply. At the time, hundreds of agricultural scientists responsible for stopping invasive species at the border were reassigned to anti-terrorism duties in the newly formed Homeland Security Department – a move that scientists say cost billions of dollars in crop damage and eradication efforts from California vineyards to Florida citrus groves. The consequences come home to consumers in the form of higher grocery prices, substandard produce and the risk of environmental damage from chemicals needed to combat the pests. An Associated Press analysis of inspection records found that border-protection officials were so engrossed in stopping terrorists that they all but ignored the country’s exposure to destructive new insects and infections – a menace that has been attacking fruits and vegetables and forests ever since.
“Whether they know it or not, every person in the country is affected by this, whether by the quality or cost of their food, the pesticide residue on food or not being able to enjoy the outdoors because beetles are killing off the trees,” said Mark Hoddle, an entomologist specializing in invasive species at the University of California-Riverside. Homeland Security officials acknowledge making mistakes and say they are now working to step up agricultural inspections. Many invasive species are carried into the U.S. by people who are either unaware of the laws or are purposely trying to skirt quarantine regulations. The hardest to stop are fruits, vegetables and spices carried by international travelers or shipped by mail. If tainted with insects or infections, they can carry contagions capable of devastating crops. Plants and cut flowers can harbor larvae, as can bags of bulk commodities such as rice. Insects have been found on tiles from Italy and wooden pallets used in cargo shipments.
Invasive species have been sneaking into North America since Europeans arrived on the continent. But the abrupt shift in focus that followed the attacks caused a steep decline in agricultural inspections that allowed more pests to invade American farms and forests. Using the Freedom of Information Act, the AP obtained data on border inspections covering the period from 2001 to 2010. The analysis showed that the number of inspections, along with the number of foreign species that were stopped, fell dramatically in the years after the Homeland Security Department was formed. Over much of the same period, the number of crop-threatening pests that got into the U.S spiked, from eight in 1999 to at least 30 last year. One such pest, the Asian citrus psyllid, which can carry a disease that has decimated Florida orange groves, crossed the border from Mexico, threatening the multibillion-dollar citrus industry in Arizona and California.
The citrus-greening disease spread by the psyllid bugs has not shown up in Arizona, but the bugs have. The presence of five of the bugs in Yuma County prompted the Arizona Department of Agriculture in November 2009 to impose a quarantine and restrictions on the transport of citrus trees and fruit within and out of Yuma County. In January, one of the insects was also found in some medicinal tea brought through Nogales from Mexico after a traveler declared the tea. At that time, John Caravetta, associate director of plant services, said 10 bugs had been found in Yuma County.
The data showed other cases:
– No fewer than 19 Mediterranean fruit-fly infestations took hold in California, and the European grapevine moth triggered spraying and quarantines across wine country.
– New Zealand’s light-brown apple moth also emerged in California, prompting the government in 2008 to treat the Monterey Bay area with 1,600 pounds of pesticides. The spraying drew complaints that it caused respiratory problems and killed birds. Officials spent $110 million to eradicate the moth, but it didn’t work.
The sweet-orange scab, a fungal disease that infects citrus, appeared in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, which all imposed quarantines.
The erythrina gall wasp decimated Hawaii’s wiliwili trees, which bear seeds used to make leis.
Forests from Minnesota to the Northeast were also affected by beetles such as the emerald ash borer, many of which arrived in Chinese shipping pallets because regulations weren’t enforced.
In all, the number of pest cases intercepted at U.S. ports of entry fell from more than 81,200 in 2002 to fewer than 58,500 in 2006, before creeping back up in 2007, when the farm industry and members of Congress began complaining. “It’s all about early detection, and it wasn’t their priority at the time,” said A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture from 2003 through 2010. The problems began when the Homeland Security Department absorbed inspectors who worked for the Department of Agriculture. The move put plant and insect scientists alongside gun-toting agents from Customs and Border Protection and resulted in a bitter culture clash.
At the time of the merger, at least 339 of 1,800 inspector positions were vacant. By 2008, vacancies had increased to 500, or more than a quarter of the original workforce. Critics in Congress say serious damage has already been done. Sen. Daniel Akaka, a Hawaii Democrat and member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, said the improvements aren’t happening fast enough. He has asked the Government Accountability Office to reopen an investigation.
Source: azcentral.com
Publication date: 10/12/2011
