Farm and Garden magazine is doing a poll about NAIS. Currently it is running:
6% Pro-NAIS
91% Anti-NAIS
3% Undecided
after 100 votes. This fits with the poll I had done surveying 300 blogs. 90% of blogs were opposing NAIS. The few supporters all had ties to the USDA, RFID industry, state government ag-departments or were big producers who would benefit from NAIS. Zero small producers and homesteaders appear to support NAIS - not surprising since the small farms are the ones most hurt by NAIS and who get no benefit from NAIS. Given that we make up the vast majority of those affected by NAIS we need to make sure our voices are heard and the USDA’s draft of NAIS is modified to make NAIS 100% voluntary and within the limits of the Constitution so as to protect people’s rights.
[UPDATE: Below are the latest poll results as of 4/10/06. -WJ]
Check out this other poll.
NAIS - A WASTE of Tax Payers Money. A Waste of Time and Energy. A poor attempt to generate more funds. An invasion of anyone’s rights. An American Embarrassment!
Comment Leigh — March 20, 2006 @ 7:15 pm
This is just the front runner to micro chipping our children…I am not kidding! I was at a seminar with a lady who works with the USDA and they want to get all the animals under their control, and then they will be inserting microchips into the needles that immunizations are given with - and the parents will be totally unaware!
DO NOT IMMUNIZE YOUR KIDS - you will be glad you didn’t and they do NOT have to be immunized (even when the schools say “it’s required” there are ways around it - check with the group called A Shot In The Dark).
Comment Judi — March 20, 2006 @ 8:37 pm
I was curious as to what our readership thought of NAIS so I put up the poll about 2 days ago. At this point we’ve had about 190 votes and the Nay’s still have it at 92% of all votes.
You’re doing an excellent job here Walter. Thank you.
Comment Gregg Banse — March 21, 2006 @ 4:11 pm
I find it strange that I found out about the existence of NAIS only through email from a friend; not through the usual media sources. WHY?!!! Is something so bad about this program that it had to be kept “low key” avoiding public knowledge until the program is on the verge of implementation with consequence imposed for non compliance?? Well I’ll tell you folks the program would require some very close tracking and discipline on the part of the producer toward the intent of the NAIS program in order for all the millions of data inputs to be meaningful. I was born and raised on a farm in central Tx back in the 50s and I understand the nature of things in such an environment. People who have the guts to try to make a living on a small to moderate size farm back then(50s)and especially now must first of all be a free spirited, chance taking person…maybe a little bit nuts!! This is a fact! Do you really think people like this are going to properly comply with some detailed data collection input program? Their mindset and way of life is to exert all their energies tending to their livestock in ways to make ends meet—feeding, watering;, proper medicating,betting on the weather etc….not involving themselves in administrative matters. They are constantly aware that they nibble on the minor part of any profit made while the huge corporations reap the vast majority of profit on the primary risk taker’s hard earned products. Any additional detailed process added to the allready existing burdens and low profit margin such as NAIS would be highly resented. It’s usefulness would therefore degrade to the point data expected to be retrieved from the NAIS system would be basically worthless. Hence, more tax dollars gone to heck in a hand basket on another program that was dreamed up by some “behind the desk dreamer” who likely has never even seen a farm or ranch, much less lived there and depended on the meager living from it.
I do not disagree that this program appears ideal, but,in reality, the nature of the people who would have to feed the data into the data collection systems are just simply not inclined to do so for many reasons..to include that of basic rights guaranteed by our constitution. You folks could say, “Well, we’ll just force those hard headed, un- cooperative rascals into compliance.” Stop– for just a second. You must not forget we live in a free society and we don’t like being FORCED into doing anything we wish not to support. WE served in all the wars to preserve our freedoms of choice. Don’t try to infringe on that sacrafice.
I recommend you find another way to convince foreign or domestic beef buyers that ranchers in the USA can produce safe to eat beef, pork, chicken or what ever. If sales drop off to the point our ranchers have to go out of business, then tell them (the ranchers) their products are unsafe and we must do something about it. Then include them in on the process of coming up with a solution. The free market has a way of rectifying undesirable products and procedures of just about any category.
John W. Roberts//Hamilton, Tx.
Comment John W. Roberts — March 27, 2006 @ 7:44 pm
John Roberts, you put that so well! I’ve been trying to explain to others that it’s the very nature of those who choose this sort of life style that is going to be a problem.
I did a lot of talking in the last month. Very few had ever heard of it. Some just figured it was a twisted sci-fi tale. When they realised what was happening most became very angry. Hasn’t been a peep in the papers. Hasn’t been a more than a passing sentence in the state’s AG bulletin. They are being deliberately left in the dark.
Comment Sue F — March 28, 2006 @ 3:53 am
John Roberts, you are not the only one who was in the dark — I only heard of it a month ago, because I sent in a card for a free copy of a new magazine called “Backyard Poultry” and there was an article about it by Mary Zanoni. Otherwise who knows when I, a backyard poultry hobbyist, would ever have heard of it? Probably not until the NAzIS came to confiscate my chickens as unregistered. (”Why did the chicken cross the road? To create more government paperwork…”) Most of my neighbors have never heard of it either. Now I carry the flyers from noNAIS and pass them out at every opportunity. Just today I came out of the store in town and saw a beat-up old pickup with a horse trailer parked out front and I thought, “Wonder if that horse owner knows about NAIS?” She didn’t — so I gave her a flyer. We need to do this kind of grassroots footwork because even with this great site here and all the articles on the internet, there are plenty of animal owners who don’t even have a computer…
Comment rooster-lover — March 28, 2006 @ 3:33 pm
I show cattle and i think this is so wrong because they are going to make us record where we take each animal and i show in TCCA and i go every where in Texas and there is no possible way i can do that. I think that this will be a big problem for many farmers and cattle raisers.
Comment Nashlee Morton — April 12, 2006 @ 1:39 pm
The more we spread the word, the more stupid mainstream media is going to look for not covering such a vital issue.
I have asked several news people to investigate this story (especially from the angle of how much it is costing tax-payers) to no avail. They seem to only be interested in covering the “good” “benefits” of RFID at the same time hyping and denouncing Identity Theft.
There is no real journalism these days except what you get in places like this.
Comment Podchef — August 8, 2006 @ 1:58 pm