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KOPPEL SAYS CUSTOMERS SHOULD STOCK UP

CHICAGO - Longtime TV newsman Ted Koppel said food retailers have an opportunity to help consumers prepare in the event of a pandemic or other disaster, such as a biological or nuclear terrorist attack."We should get the word out that people should start stocking up on a month or two supply of food," he said in the keynote address to open the Food Marketing Institute Show here last week. "So what

CHICAGO - Longtime TV newsman Ted Koppel said food retailers have an opportunity to help consumers prepare in the event of a pandemic or other disaster, such as a biological or nuclear terrorist attack.

"We should get the word out that people should start stocking up on a month or two supply of food," he said in the keynote address to open the Food Marketing Institute Show here last week. "So what if they deplete your shelves, you can restock. If the [avian] flu hits, that's when we will see people breaking into stores."

If the avian flu mutates into a form that is easily transmissible among humans, he pointed out, millions of people will shut themselves in their homes, and they will need to have a supply of food on hand.

"How do you avoid a pandemic? You stay home," he said.

Koppel also addressed the possibility that the food supply could be vulnerable to a terrorist attack, although he cited a faulty example to illustrate the system's vulnerability. Quoting some misinformation from former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Koppel said most of the honey in the U.S. was imported from Lebanon - home of the Hezbollah organization, an ally of Iran. It would be easy, he said, for terrorists to poison the U.S. honey supply.

Honey producers were quick to correct him. A representative from the National Honey Board, who was in attendance at the show, came to the press office after Koppel's speech and pointed out that 44% of the honey consumed in the U.S. is in fact produced domestically, and Lebanon is not among the top exporters to the U.S.

Tim Hammonds, FMI chairman and chief executive officer, pointed out the next day that Lebanon is actually a net importer of honey. He explained that Koppel apparently picked up the information from something Thompson had once said in error.

Koppel also addressed the evolution of news and politics through his 45 years as a journalist, noting that both have become more adept at telling people what they want to hear rather than what is important.

"Politicians are listening instead of leading," he said. "They are listening to pollsters. It sounds democratic, and it sounds like the right thing to do, but it is not leadership."