Food security is national security. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the criticality of food security and the relationships between the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Agriculture within the 16 national critical infrastructure sectors. The pandemic exposed key dependencies that caused the shutdown of food supply chains as the workforce illness rapidly spread globally and across the U.S., causing the shuttering of processing plants, the culling of herds, and the inherent shortages in retail availability of foodstuffs.
The food supply chain is a complex, interdependent "system of systems," where governments, the private sector, and individuals interact with the technologies, requirements, and procedures in each stage of the farm-to-fork process. Food safety is dependent upon timely, "fact-based, rational decisions (FBRDs)." Increasingly, these FBRDs are made by humans assisted by computers and artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Rational decision-making has come under assault by sophisticated adversaries using advanced technologies that disrupt, corrupt, and manipulate our critical infrastructure systems, including putting the safety and security of the food supply system at risk, as well as brand quality and the bottom line.