NAIS is the National Animal Identification System. But what is it, really?

Here’s a good analogy to explain NAIS. … Suppose I had a monster corporation, selling cars all over the world, and I wanted to show the world my clunkers have no mechanical problems, but I know they do. Gotta hide those lemons, blame them on someone else. So I write a business plan on how to show these cars are the best and run great, and arrange to have my plan made a law. As camouflage I add YOU to my plan, because you own a vehicle. No, it’s not one I made, but it IS a vehicle.

According to the new law (did I remember to tell you it’s MY law?), I get to build my cars, buy them, sell them and take them anywhere I want with very few restrictions. YOU, on the other hand, are loaded down with requirements. You must report to the government every place you go, and to microchip your car. I can make money off the microchip, too. (Check out who makes money from microchips that NAIS will be requiring.) Of course, my plan will have regulations that my corporation has to follow, too, but since I have so many cars, I get to make the rules and get special considerations so that I don’t have to spend a lot of money and effort reporting to the government. I even get to own the data base that tracks your car and you have to pay me money to track it! To make everything sound green and helpful, I’ll add to my plan a sweet cover story that forcing YOU to follow all the rules in MY plan will somehow help save the environment. Get it now?

“But (you ask) “isn’t NAIS is about tracking disease and keeping food safe? Not about microchips?”

Sorry, that is not so. NAIS is a business plan, says so right on the cover. Tracking disease was added to convince the public that it is a harmless and possibly worthwhile program.
Look at this–NAIS tracking ends at time of slaughter. Most food safety issues occur during processing. For disease tracking there are already protocols for that in place, and they work just fine.
A large “agri biz” producer gets ONE lot number per group of animals, and does not need to tag them. Any one of those animals could be sick. Small producers (and that includes anyone who owns a handful of chickens or a horse, perhaps YOU) must tag and track every animal individually and must pay for it. The big agri biz controls the data base that the USDA uses in determining the ownership of that diseased animal. Couldn’t have been them. Must be YOU! Perhaps a processing facility improperly prepares some beef, and it becomes tainted with disease. Gotta trace it back to a farm–YOU!
If disease is suspected, depopulation of an entire 6 mile radius (140 square miles) is what is prescribed in the NAIS business plan. This in spite of the fact that most diseases can be cured, inoculated against, or prevented. DEPOPULATION may mean KILLING your PETS, burning YOUR house and restrict YOUR movement

The USDA claims NAIS is to protect the “national herd”. (That’s genuine fascist or communist language. You don’t even own your animals!) So why was the Creekstone Beef plan to test every cow they process for BSE rejected by the USDA? The USDA claimed it would cost too much money when Creekstone was the one paying! Creekstone had to sue for the right to test for BSE!

If disease is an issue, then why has there been a decrease in government testing for bovine tuberculosis in California from 10,576 tests in 1995 to 5,100 in 1994 to 1,425 in 1999, Why turn border checks over to a Chihuahuan cattle producers’ association despite the high prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in Mexican cattle?

These plans have been in the works for a long time–the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the forming of the World Trade Organization date back to 1995. That was when a group of agribusinesses, tag-manufacturing companies and the USDA started work on NAIS, plus SPS requires no border testing! (Note that 1995 is the same date that USDA began its drastic reduction in disease testing.)

If you really want to know what the USDA’s position on disease really is, check out the Testimony Of Stanley Painter, Chairman National Joint Council of Food Inspection Local Unions, during the Hallmark investigation. http://domesticpolicy.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1870
“…it frustrates me and many of my members when we are told by our supervisors… not to write non-compliance reports…the agency’s databases may not contain accurate information about the compliance history of meat and poultry plants because of pressure being applied not to write them up for violations….. agency officials subjected me to several hours of interrogation including wanting me to identify which of my members were blowing the whistle…I refused to do so. I was then placed on disciplinary investigation status. The agency even contacted the USDA Office of Inspector General to explore criminal charges being filed against me…”

NAIS is just the first step in the plan for control of not only meat but vegetable food production in the USA and worldwide. Do you eat food? As an individual can you afford to allow ONLY large corporations the right to grow and sell food? Do you really want EUROPEAN UNION OFFICIALS knocking on your door to look at the records and manuals needed so your daughter can own a pony or granny can raise some eggs or you can plant a garden? I am kidding right? ASK the Brazilian farmers who was just inspected by the EU. Neither Brazil nor the US is a member of the European Union. Not yet…

What’s happening now?
Falls Church, Virginia, (July 14, 2008) (Business Wire) — Attorneys for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund today filed suit in the U.S. District Court – District of Columbia to stop the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) from implementing the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a plan to electronically track every livestock animal in the country.

What can we do?
PLEASE HELP DEFEND US FARMERS RIGHT TO GROW FOOD:
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: The Fund defends the rights and broadens the freedoms of sustainable farmers, and protects consumer access to local, nutrient-dense foods. Concerned citizens can support the Fund by joining at farmtoconsumer.org or by contacting the Fund at 703-208-FARM. The Fund’s sister organization, the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation (farmtoconsumerfoundation.org), works to support farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and promote consumer access to local, nutrient-dense food.

I meant to post my question in regard to bovine leukemia on this thread but unwittingly posted it somewhere less appropriate.

According to what I am hearing, bovine leukemia (virus) - similar in outcome to the AIDs (virus) - exists in 90 percent of the cattle in the United States - including dairy cattle. This pathogen is not a threat to human health IF meat is cooked and milk pasteurized.

It becomes less clear what health threat there is to humans who drink raw milk from cows carrying the (virus).

My reading indicates that AIDs is actually not a virus but rather an ‘enhanced’ mycoplasma which wears the immune system to exhaustion thus allowing opportunistic diseases to kill the host.

It appears the bovine leukemia pathogen can be carried by mosquitoes. Now there is something to consider. Why is this ‘disease’ suddenly manifesting itself? I do not know.

I also know that it is crazy to be transporting food sources anywhere but to the nearest point of consumption.

The FDA has indicated it is getting onto the “farm to fork “ bandwagon (crops and veggies). FDA

. “In the EU, there is a list of ‘official’ vegetable varieties. Seed that is not on the list cannot be ’sold’ to the ‘public’ To keep something on the list costs thousands of pounds each year.” Realseeds.co

The European Union has actually inspected farms in Brazil. thecattlesite

This means we can now bring all those home gardeners on board. No one wants to deal with “the Guide to Good Farming Practices”, security checks, manuals, record keeping, and an inspector knocking on the door.

For anyone protesting it is for food safety….Throw these facts at them

If disease is an issue, then why has there been a decrease in government testing for bovie tuberculosis in California from 10,576 tests in 1995 to 5,100 in 1994 to 1,425 in 1999, Why turn border checks over to a Chihuahuan cattle producers’ association despite the high prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in Mexican cattle?

Because –the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the forming of the World Trade Organization date back to 1995. That was when a group of agribusinesses, tag-manufacturing companies and the USDA started work on NAIS, plus SPS requires no border testing! (Note that 1995 is the same date that USDA began its drastic reduction in disease testing.)

The USDA claims NAIS is to protect the “national herd”. So why was the Creekstone Beef plan to test every cow they process for BSE rejected by the USDA? Why did Creekstone have to sue for the right to test for BSE!

AND If you really want to know what the USDA’s position is on disease check out the Testimony Of Stanley Painter, Chairman National Joint Council of Food Inspection Local Unions, during the Hallmark investigation. oversight.house.gov

“…it frustrates me and many of my members when we are told by our supervisors… not to write non-compliance reports…the agency’s databases may not contain accurate information about the compliance history of meat and poultry plants because of pressure being applied not to write them up for violations….. agency officials subjected me to several hours of interrogation including wanting me to identify which of my members were blowing the whistle…I refused to do so. I was then placed on disciplinary investigation status. The agency even contacted the USDA Office of Inspector General to explore criminal charges being filed against me…”

According to this young woman the questionnaire was actually sent from the Ag Statistics agency (state arm of NASS) in Fargo based on a list of ‘producers’ in their data base. She told me that this questionnaire was mailed to between 15,000 & 16,000 ‘producers’. Here is the kicker. The questionnaire was sent two years ago and yet they are talking up the results on a current community affairs npr show as if they had just received results a minute ago.

Out of all those mailed questionnaires only about 1400 were returned. Out of those, 1056 returned the Premise Registration Form which had been included with the questionnaire.

Tomorrow I will call her when in Bismarck to see if she has found a copy of the questionnaire for me. I’m curious.

She also assured me that in ND NAIS is strictly voluntary and is being formulated on brand id for cattle and with a state plan in place that would trump the federal plan. I explained to her that so long as a state department accepts federal dollars they are essentially ‘FEDERALIZED’ in the event of a national emergency. She didn’t seem to understand that concept.

She told me that NAIS is to insure rapid response to animal health issues and food safety. I asked her why USDA sued Creekstone Meats over their BSE testing of all slaughtered cattle. She was aware of that suit. She said, “Yeah, I don’t understand that either.”

I think the local people are just doing a job and do not realize they are working for the devil.