Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms: * Deliberate contamination of food and water with poisonous or contagious material * Use of microbes, biological toxins, animals, or plants (living or dead) in a weapon system * Use of biologically inoculated fabrics and persons In the 20th century, sophisticated bacteriological and virological techniques allowed the production of significant stockpiles of weaponized bio-agents: