Trenton Mo. Meeting:
There will be an NAIS informational meeting in Trenton, MO at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 19th at the Grundy County Senior Center which is located at 2901 Hoover Dr. in Trenton. Confirmed speakers are Ray Cunio, Doreen Hannes, Russell Wood and Bob Parker. Also invited are Mo. Dept. of Ag. and USDA Officals, Mo. Cattlemen’s Assc., Farm Bureau and any and all Federal, State, County Elected Officials. There will be question and answer period after the speakers and you will receive a lot of information, so please bring something with which to take notes. For information, Contact 660-748-3816
St. James Mo. Meeting:
There will be an NAIS (National Animal Identification System) meeting at 7 pm at the Rolla Horse Auction, on Hwy 68 N on Thursday, Sept. 28th north of St James, MO. Confirmed speakers are Ray Cunio, Doreen Hannes and Bob Parker. Mo. Dept. of Ag. and USDA Officials, Mo. Cattlemen’s Association and Farm Bureau have also been invited to speak. Federal, State, County Elected Officials have been invited and are encouraged to attend. Following the speakers presentations there will be a question and answer period. There will also be t-shirts for sale to support the fight against NAIS and petitions to sign. For information, Contact 573-743-6720
Hat tip to Doreen
I wonder if someone attending one of these (or other) meetings with USDA or other pushers of NAIS could find something out for me. I have been curious about this, but have not seen it addressed:
Tainted food is generally discovered when people eating it get sick. After a steer is slaughtered and butchered, the chip is gone, the meat is quartered, hung, sent off to the stores with thousands of other quarters (including, no doubt, foreign beef). The store butchers cut it into steaks and roasts and toss the scraps into the hamburger pile. Suppose some consumers eat some hamburger and get sick from it. Even in the extremely unlikely event that it was actually the steer and not the myriad of handling along the way, how the heck can that piece of hamburger be traced back from my kitchen to the steer of origin? The packers won’t admit they can even label and track Country of Origin, how the heck are they going to trace that piece of hamburger back to a single steer?
Another issue that weighs on my mind is the “lot labeling” exemption that the NIAA built in for its members. Is a steer raised in a lot exempt from escaping a pen, breaking a fence, being accidentally released from a truck? Should we not be demanding that the lot exemption be removed as this mess is considered? Is not what is good for the goose also good for the gander?
Comment Patricia Hampton — September 19, 2006 @ 7:38 am
So, what happened to the USDA “terrorist”? Was that guy tracked down and reprimanded, fired or something?
[I inquired but not heard back on the results of the USDA’s own investigation into this. I also reported it to the FBI but have not heard from them. I’ll update the article when I have news. -WJ]
Comment ChelYoung — September 19, 2006 @ 9:19 am
Why spend so much time, money, planning going after innocent animals and small farmers when we have 30 million illegals here? Seems like we have some warped priorities.
Let’s focus on chem trails, tainted immunizations, Aspertame, free trade ( that ALWAYS triggers a depression for the United States), high gasoline prices and the international corridor.
Elaine Kettring
Comment Elaine Kettring — September 19, 2006 @ 10:24 am
I own/have a farm/feed store in northern Calif…I have posted all I can download from this websight regarding NAIS..give/show info regarding this inane upcoming law..Amazing how many folks here do not..have not heard about NAIS..will keep trying to inform my customers about this issue..no Calif meetings that I know of..insane!
Comment david gowan — September 19, 2006 @ 9:43 pm
I went to the meeting this evening in Trenton, MO not exactly sure what to expect. What I found out has me very, very concerned.
We have tens of thousands of hogs here in northern Missouri. If the company that holds these hogs has to go in an tag each one, you are looking at a tremendous expense. What if they decide it isn’t worth it? You have thousands more jobs that are no longer available.
The impact of this pending legislation is far reaching; not only for privacy and protection issues, but the livelihood of several people including local farmers that depend on free, open, and accessible markets.
Don’t throw all that away.
Comment Shane Groosm — September 19, 2006 @ 10:30 pm
Greetings,
I attended the meeting in Trenton, Missouri 9-19-2006 at the senior center. There were approximately 350 people in attendance with the Amish population well represented.
A speaker for Senator Talent, Emily, spoke and repeated over and over how this program is VOLUNTARY.
Excuse me, once a piece of property has an identification number called “premice number”, it is passed on to the next owners. A property owner cannot revoke it. In 2007, no animals will be allowed to enter the Missouri State Fair without a premice number. If an Amish farmer wants to visit his neighbor on horseback, it is consider an animal movement and has to be reported within 48 hours. It does not matter if the neighbor has animals or not, it is animal movement. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE ‘VOLUNTARY’ TO YOU?
I understand that the Bayer Corporation, a German company, has exclusive rights to manufacture these identification chips/tags for the animals.
Does beef, pork, lamb,fish, milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs sound like the back bone of America? Then the backbone of America is being sacrificed on the alter of BIG CORPORATIONS.
Elaine Kettring
Comment Elaine Kettring — September 21, 2006 @ 4:51 am
These people don’t go away…
Earlier this week former Vice President Al Gore took up his theme of global warming, delivering an extended address at New York University that, even in the words of the liberal Washington Post, calls for “restructuring industry and farming” in the United States.
[Below is a quote from Al Gore’s speech:
It appears that Mr. Gore is pushing for incentives for more domestic production of fuels through agriculture. While the money will mostly go to big-ag it is still a good thing. Our nation’s dependence on foreign oil is a major problem. I agree with what Mr. Gore is saying here although in general I find the man annoying and have voted against him every time. I do not see any hidden got-cha’s in this as long as the government doesn’t try and use a mandatory plan to force their goals on people. -WJ]
Comment LuAnn — September 21, 2006 @ 8:03 am
Another quote:
James Otis 1760-
“A law contrary to the Constitution is void. Man’s right to liberty and property is inherent, inalienable. Man’s right to freedom is higher than the state’s right to collect revenue.”
If we believe it, we must live it.
Comment LuAnn — September 21, 2006 @ 8:45 am
Al Gore is a dangerous man. While I believe much of what he does is truly for the Good, his beliefs on farming are very Dangerous to us, our way of life and America. The view that we can import our foods much more cheaply than we can ever produce them is stupidity beyond belief. It may be true, but at what cost will that plan come? In reality, we need to grow less corn as food–if you can call high-fructose corn syrup food–and use more of it as fuel. That switch over wouldn’t take any more farmland that already under cultivation. The rest of diminishing farmland can and should be kept in food production before we loose more of our soverignty and open ourselves to embargos and being held hostage over food.
Comment Podchef — September 21, 2006 @ 1:35 pm
You are absolutely right, Podchef. I would simply love it if we Americans grew all our own food. We already have countries like Iran and Venezuela controlling much of the oil in the world. Why should we be held hostage by other nations, just so that we can eat and travel? Nothing would be better than to have a completely independent America, where the people grow enough food for themselves, and any oil we use is “homegrown” as well. It certainly would be another good way to preserve our sovereignty.
God Bless
Comment Goatman — September 21, 2006 @ 6:35 pm
It has been said that if everyone grew there own food people would starve. That we must have large scale commercial agriculture. I don’t believe it. I think, given my own harvest this year, that if *individuals* all tried to grow their own food as self-sufficiently as possible trouble could arise. But nothing says that must be the case. Localities, geographic areas–that is what is meant by “grow our own food”. A parish, a city, etc. Anything within 500 miles would be acceptable, 250 miles better. Then there would be no biosecurity issues. Crop failure could be reduced by having redundant crops in many areas and the bolstering of local economies would leave everyone better off.
Perhaps I am fortunate to live in an area where some of this is already taking place. Perhaps my island view shows me that this has been done and could be done again–successfully. It doesn’t have to replace trade or transportation of goods–who doesn’t like oranges, bananas, grapefruit. But it would dramatically lessen the costs and impact of shipping foodstuffs 1500 miles to our table.
Due to the E. Coli outbreak there are are some NW spinach farmers suffering. The disease is affecting crops 1000 miles away, but they can’t sell their perfect spinach. Here is a tale of two farms–one which bags spinach and can’t sell it and another which boxes bunches of spinach and can sell all it has–locally. The first farm is doing great at local farmers markets due to increased demand, but they have grown too much for a national market which isn’t there anymore and will not be able to recover from the loss. This should be a lesson in the economies of scale. Sure if you are bigger things will be cheaper, but the farther you will have to fall when something wrong happens.
Chances are the spinach thing isn’t bio-terrorism, just bad luck, stupidity and laziness in a larger, quicker, cheaper industry. But it is as clear a window into the possible scenario which could play out as we will ever get.
Bio-tech will not save us. Consolidation of agricultural resources will not save us. Chipping, tracking, regulating to death will not save us. The personal relations of a network of local farmers rasing foods for a given area, monitored and inspected first and foremost by the consumers themselves, then by government agencies, will be the only way to create a safe, healthy and tamper-proof food system.
Comment Podchef — September 22, 2006 @ 8:45 am
It was said that if you tell the lie often enough you will get the masses to accept it.
I am tired of hearing how all this government intrusion is for “security”. NAIS, the SPP etc…
They (government) are so busy writing up how to merge Mexico, Canada, and US and getting animals and children microchipped that they have completely forgotten our borders. Does this sound like “doublespeak” to anyone else?
Comment LuAnn — September 22, 2006 @ 9:35 am
Comments are closed on this article. Please move discussion of the Henshaw incident to this article.
Comment walterj — September 29, 2006 @ 7:33 am