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 quietly growing menace that has been attacking fruits and vegetables and even prized forests ever since.
TVNL Comment: One more thing for which to thank George W Bush and his neocon handlers.
A deadly listeria outbreak connected to prepared pasta meals sold at grocery chains nationwide is worsening,...
One of the monkeys that escaped after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway on 28...
A civil jury in Maine has awarded $25m to a woman whose teenage daughter died from...
