Article by Lawfare, February 2026.
The article's authors argue that NATO must expand its view of security to include threats to agriculture and food systems. They explain that food systems are now vulnerable not only to traditional attacks on physical infrastructure but also to cyber operations, economic coercion, disinformation, and biological threats that adversaries can exploit. Modern agriculture’s reliance on connected technologies creates new entry points for disruption. Current NATO resilience planning includes food and water but does not completely reflect how hybrid threats now intersect with food security. Food systems, both within member states and across global supply chains, require integration into NATO’s hybrid threat planning to ensure collective stability.
“Food is no longer just sustenance. In the context of hybrid warfare, it is also a strategic vulnerability and, if adequately protected, a source of collective strength.” Erin Sikorsky & Siena Cicarelli
Main Takeaways
The article states that NATO has historically considered food weaponization through blockades, market manipulation, or infrastructure attacks but now faces new digital and biological risks. Agricultural technologies such as sensors, drones, and data systems increase efficiency but also introduce cyber vulnerabilities that adversaries could exploit. Current food systems depend on old infrastructure and lack coordination between producers, cybersecurity experts, and national defense bodies.
Cyberattacks already disrupting major global producers show these are real, not theoretical, risks. Biological threats such as plant and animal diseases are rising, and institutional fragmentation leaves gaps in prevention and response. Climate change worsens these trends by spreading pests and diseases faster than regulatory systems can adapt. NATO’s existing resilience requirements for food do not match today’s threat landscape, creating a strategic blind spot in alliance security planning.
Recommendations for NATO
- Update NATO’s resilience agenda to include current hybrid food system threats.
- Break down silos between civilian agriculture agencies and military or security institutions to create shared threat assessments and coordinated responses.
- Prioritize cyber and biological defense investments specific to agrifood systems.
- Integrate food systems into national and alliance-level risk assessments and planning exercises.
- Support projects that strengthen global food system adaptation to climate extremes and share cyber and biosecurity best practices internationally.
- Focus resources on preventing adversaries from leveraging food vulnerabilities for geopolitical leverage.
This text is based on extracts from an article published by Lawfare Media, authored by Erin Sikorsky and Siena Cicarelli. To read the full version of the article, follow this link.