As World War II ravaged Europe in the early 1940s, both sides sought any advantage that could turn the tide of the conflict. Great Britain hatched one of the most sinister secret plans of the war – Operation Vegetarian – a biological attack to cripple Germany’s food supply using anthrax-infected cattle cakes. Though never carried out, the chilling plan revealed the desperation of nations and moral compromises made in wartime.
World War II had expanded into a grueling global conflict by 1942. Nazi Germany’s occupation stretched across much of Europe after blitzkrieg victories against Poland, France, and other nations. The British Isles stood nearly alone against Hitler’s march across the continent. As the Nazis considered biological weapons, Prime Minister Winston Churchill resolved that “we should concentrate our attention upon B.W. [biological warfare], with a view to putting ourselves in a position to use it should the need arise.” Thus began the British mission to develop its own biological arsenal.
The Search for a Secret Weapon
A top-secret team was assembled in 1942 at Porton Down, the British chemical and biological weapons research center in southwest England. Their task? Find a way to retaliate if Hitler resorted to germ warfare against the United Kingdom. After weighing options ranging from botulinum toxin to typhoid, the government settled on developing a strain of anthrax.
Anthrax is caused by spore-forming Bacillus anthracis bacteria that occur naturally in soils. Grazing animals ingest the resilient spores which multiply and produce lethal toxins once inside a host. With a fatality rate around 75% in humans, anthrax could decimate populations if intentionally spread. But how to deliver a potential attack?
After acquiring a highly virulent anthrax strain known as Vollum, Porton Down scientists proposed dropping anthrax-laced cattle cakes from aircraft over Germany. The cakes would be eaten by cattle that would succumb to anthrax. Their infected meat would then enter the German food supply, triggering mass casualties when consumed by people.
Beyond physical harm, the British theorized that such an attack could create crippling uncertainty and fear around eating meat, lowering German morale. The mission even earned a darkly ironic nickname – Operation Vegetarian. Field tests soon commenced to turn concept into deadly reality.
Testing Anthrax on British Sheep
To validate their anthrax cattle cakes, Porton Down needed to conduct live field trials – but where? In 1942, the desolate, privately-owned island of Gruinard off the Scottish coast was chosen for its remoteness. If anthrax contamination occurred, the secluded island could be quarantined with minimal risk to populated areas.
In July 1942, Royal Air Force bombers flew over Gruinard and dropped anthrax-filled bombs across a flock of sheep. Over the next few days, all 60 sheep perished from inhaling anthrax spores that suffocated their lungs. The tests were deemed a success – anthrax could be dispersed over a large area and cause rapid death. But consequences would soon emerge that threatened the mainland.
Collateral Damage from Anthrax Tests
After the Gruinard field test, the anthrax bacteria permeated the island’s soil, persisting for decades. A storm later unearthed infected sheep carcasses that washed ashore on the Scottish mainland just 1km away. Local dogs scavenged the carcasses, contracting anthrax and triggering an outbreak in mainland livestock.
Over 100 animals died before authorities controlled the spread, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of biological weapons. Meanwhile, Porton Down forged ahead mass-producing 5 million anthrax-injected linseed cattle cakes by 1943 – enough to blanket fields across Germany. But by early 1944, Germany’s defeat seemed imminent and Operation Vegetarian was abandoned. Yet disposal of unused anthrax proved as vexing as its development.
Disposing of Unused Anthrax Cakes
With Operation Vegetarian scrapped by war’s end, British authorities faced an anthrax cleanup dilemma – how to safely destroy millions of anthrax-filled cattle cakes? All but two crates of the lethal treats were ultimately incinerated under military supervision. But the threat of any cakes escaping still concerned officials given the viability of anthrax spores for decades if buried.
The most pressing issue remained decontaminating Gruinard Island after rendering it dangerously inhospitable from the tests. Initially kept under quarantine, major decontamination efforts began in 1986 using seawater and fogging with formaldehyde. It took 4 years and over $7 million before Gruinard was finally declared anthrax-free and sold back to original owners in 1990, almost 50 years after first use.
The drastic measures underscored the sobering power of biological agents against exposed populations. While much of developed Scotland recovered, the Gruinard anthrax trials left permanent scars on an unassuming island. Would a full-scale attack on Germany have scarred its people and lands just as profoundly?
Could Operation Vegetarian Have Worked?
On paper, Operation Vegetarian appeared a ruthless blow against civilian populations under Nazi occupation in Europe. But biological weapons rarely follow predictable scripts. Could the cattle cake plan have significantly hindered Germany’s war machine if enacted?
While ingesting anthrax-tainted meat likely would have proved fatal for thousands, resulting food shortages may have been replaceable through rationing programs. Germany’s massive territory could also dilute anthrax’s spread compared to Gruinard’s concentrated doses. Eliminating traces of anthrax across vast lands to restore agriculture could have taken years, however.
There were also moral arguments against replicating Operation Vegetarian. Anthrax killed indiscriminately, afflicting rural farmers and urban families alike, Axis and Allied citizens across borders. Some military leaders expressed concerns about provoking Hitler to retaliate with his own biological attacks in a dangerous escalation.
Ultimately, the plan remained theoretical. Hitler never approved germ warfare during World War II, likely avoiding retaliation in kind. But Britain’s willingness to develop such weapons underscored the temptations that even open societies face during existential wars.
The Allure of Biological Weapons
What made political leaders sanction programs like Operation Vegetarian against entire civilian populations? Biological weapons have always held morbid allure for militaries seeking an asymmetric advantage, yet are banned by modern treaties.
On one hand, collapsing enemy food supplies could turn occupied civilians against their leaders to sue for peace, military strategists argued. Populations weakened by hunger were also more prone to succumbing to deadly bacteria. After withstanding years of German bombardment, some British officials likely wanted revenge through any available means too.
Yet these rationales violated codes protecting noncombatants. They also risked propelling an endless biological arms race of retaliation. Once Pandora’s box was opened, neither side could turn back.
Fortunately, Hitler never embraced germ warfare, for reasons still unclear. But it was less an act of conscience than pragmatism. Germany zealously developed chemical weapons and delivery systems that could have been converted to biological agents if Hitler wished. Perceived mental and physical weaknesses after nearly dying from poison gas in WWI may have personally disgusted him to biological weapons though.
Nonetheless, Nazi officials dabbled in entomological warfare research, breeding disease-carrying insects. Had Hitler ordered its use, a special SS unit under Kurt Blome was tasked with waging biological warfare. While Operation Vegetarian idled, the potential ingredients for apocalypse remained at hand for both sides.
The Anthrax Legacy at Porton Down
While Operation Vegetarian never materialized, Britain’s investment in anthrax research cast a long shadow. Fearing Soviet biological attacks, the UK accelerated development of anthrax alongside smallpox, botulinum and other agents through the 1950s before finally renouncing biological weapons in 1956.
The Soviets, Japanese, Americans and others, however, pressed onwards with disturbing biological programs during the Cold War, necessitating vigilance and preparedness. Research at facilities like Porton Down shifted focus to countermeasure development and defense — dual-use work continues to spark controversy today.
(via The Scotsman)
The compound at Porton Down remains one of the world’s premier government laboratories specializing in chemicals, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and pathogen identification. During the 2018 Novichok poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, nearby public health experts rushed samples to Porton Down for analysis within hours, tracing the nerve agent back to Russia.
The organization is also partnering with Oxford University in testing vaccines against COVID-19. While Porton Down maintains it is “one of the most scrutinized organizations in the world,” its genesis in programs like Operation Vegetarian still fuels unease about the ethics of its mission. The allure of weaponizing biology, so tempting in wartime, has never fully faded.
Reflecting on Operation Vegetarian’s Legacy
As WWII entered its final, desperate years, governments faced difficult choices and ethical tradeoffs. Operation Vegetarian exemplified the cold calculations made when societies feel threatened to the core. Though it was never enacted, the program revealed what humanity is capable of under existential duress.
Yet biological weapons also demonstrate that science without conscience threatens our shared bonds and moral codes in wartime and peace. Thankfully, Operation Vegetarian was abandoned as an immoral means to victory over fascism. Its legacy should remind us of the dangers whenever nations view human lives as mere statistics and instruments of war.
Though Allied nations embraced moral compromises against totalitarian enemies, these acts did not ultimately define their character. As Churchill himself reflected on England’s darkest moments, “The nation had the lion’s heart even if at times it did not have the lion’s strength.” May we retain our humanity, lest we become the monsters we fight.
📈😲Additional Facts
1347
One of the first biological warfare instances reportedly occurred in 1347 when Mongols catapulted plague-ridden bodies into the Crimean port Caffa. Some historians speculate that this may have caused ships returning to Italy to spark the Black Death pandemic that killed around 25 million Europeans, nearly a third of the population.
1763
British settlers distributed blankets from smallpox patients to native Americans
Aug 6th, 2008
Bruce Ivins took his own life on Aug 6th, 2008 days before he was charged by the FBI for the Anthrax attacks in 2001 just a week after the 9/11 attacks. Ivins was a microbiologist at U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick. The Anthrax attacks were responsible for five deaths and 17 hospitalizations.
