Hello, April 1st, 2006 7:58pm
This is a printout from the web site http://NoNAIS.org
It will give you an introduction to the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) which would harm small family farms, homesteaders and ultimately consumers who would pay higher prices for less choice as control of our national food supply falls into the hands of fewer and fewer large corporations. NAIS is no April Fools joke. It's real and if you want to stop it you need to act now. Help Protect Traditional Rights to Farm.
I have also included the handout which is a summary of NAIS and other materials. Please pass along copies to other people. All these materials may be used for any purpose to fight NAIS.
Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont: http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
NoNAIS.org Web Site: http://NoNAIS.org
Print this to pass out: http://NoNAIS.org/handout
Print this to hang up: http://NoNAIS.org/poster
Print for people offline: http://NoNAIS.org/printout (This document)
USDA's Draft Strategic Plan for NAIS:
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/about/pdf/NAIS_Draft_Strategic_Plan_42505.pdf
FAQ Pages from NoNAIS.org
Frequently Asked Questions (Just the Facts section in the left sidebar)
General — walterj 4:37 pm Edit
NoNAIS.org is nothing fancy or complex. It is myself, a homesteader, father and small time farmer in Vermont plus a few other volunteers like Celeste who has been compiling alerts about NAIS.
Since 2004 I have been trying to get the attention of our elected leaders, government officials and bureaucrats about just how bad the National Animal Identification System will be for small farmers and homesteaders. I feel re-soundly ignored by them. Most of them don’t bother to reply to my letters on this topic. The couple that have are strong supporters of NAIS, “all the way to the backyard” as they put it.
On the other hand I have written letters to the editors of our local daily newspapers and gotten a tremendous positive response. Friends, acquaintances and people I don’t even know stop me on the street, call me on the phone and email me telling me how much they liked the letters and how strongly they agree with me.
The common people are virtually universally against NAIS once they know about it. The problem is most people don’t know about NAIS because the USDA has been slipping it under the door without legislative review. Our government officials support NAIS. NAIS will hurt small farmers, homesteaders and pet owners as well as consumers. NAIS is great for big agri-businesses and the tag identification companies. Somethings fishy…
So, I have started this blog to help spread the word about the various groups fighting NAIS. I want to get the information out to the public so they can fight for their rights to raise their own food without government interference.
Some people would argue that the government helping big business win against the public good is par for the course. I say we need to fight it. Otherwise we’re just lambs being led to the slaughter.
Ask yourself what can you do to stop the government from taking away our rights? Can you send a letter to the editor? Can you write your Congressional representatives? Sign a petition? Tell people you know about this? Every little bit counts. Together we can stand up and stop this ridiculous abridgment of our rights. Act now.
Want to do more? Write an article for your local newspaper or a magazine. Have a blog or web site? Write about NAIS to get people informed about how bad it is. Contact influential people you know who can make a difference. Leverage the power of the people and technology. Help with alert items here at NoNAIS. Participate in the discussions about NAIS. Do what you can while you still have the right to speak up and fight back.
General — walterj 3:13 pm Edit
The National Animal ID program was originally designed to give the big beef producers help in getting export markets which required disease controls. The idea is that every single livestock animal in the United States will be identified and tagged. All livestock animal movements will be tracked, logged and reported to the government. The benefit is to the big factory farms who probably do need this type of regulation. They get to do single ID’s for large groups of animals. Small farmers, pet owners and homesteaders will have to tag and track every single animal.
There are no exceptions - even small farms that sell direct to local consumers will be required to pay the fees and file all the paper work on all their animals. Even horse, llama and other pet owners will be required to participate in NAIS. Homesteaders who raise their own meat and grandma with her one egg hen will also have to register their homes as ‘farm premises’ and obtain a Premise ID, tag all their animals and submit all the paperwork and fees. Absurd? Yes - There are no exceptions under the current NAIS plan. The USDA has slipped this plan in the back door without any legislation. This is going to be very expensive and guess who is going to pay for it in higher food prices… You!
General — walterj 3:22 pm Edit
NAIS will help some big corporations, like the big beef producers, by opening up export markets for them to other countries.
NAIS will hurt a lot of different people including consumers, pet owners, children, homesteaders and small farmers.
Consumers will face higher meat prices under NAIS because the cost of producing meat will go up with the addition of fees to the government to support the NAIS program. The cost of other foods, like vegetables, will likely also go up as well since the manure from meat animals is used to fertilize the soil to grow better crops. Most importantly, NAIS will result in many small farms going out of business. The consolidation of the meat industry into fewer, big, agri-biz producers means they will have more control of the market and be able to charge higher prices for the same product.
Pet owners will be forced to register their family horse, pet sheep, llamas and other ‘livestock’ that aren’t part of the food chain. This will cost them money and be a hassle with paperwork and premise ID fees each year. Furthermore, every time you want to take your pet to the vet, on a trail ride or even just cross the road you’ll have to submit paperwork with the government and probably pay a fee. Every time. In time, they plan to do the same for pet dogs and cats. See PAWS legislation and the Vermont Pet Merchant bill that requires you to register as a pet dealer if you cat has kittens or your dog has puppies.
Children who are in 4-H or Future Farmers of America will have to register their parents house as a farm and get a Premise ID as well as paying the annual fees and doing paper work every time an animal is bought, sold, shown or moved. This will also stifle county fairs which are already on fragile footing. Figure you’ll not be seeing livestock at fairs of the future - there will just be the midway and amusement rides that are poorly inspected, but no animals.
Homesteaders, people who grow some of their own food, will have to register with the government as a farm and obtain a Premise ID. They’ll also have to pay the annual fees associated with that and fill out the paperwork on all of their livestock. Every time you have chicks, goats, piglets or other animals born you’ll need to register it with the government. Every time an animal dies you’ll have to register it with the government. Got a predator problem? Expect to fill out a lot of paperwork. Have an animal escape the fence and cross the road or go onto a neighbor’s property? Fill out more forms and the neighbor may have to fill out forms, too. Animals come on to your property uninvited? More forms. And no, there are no exceptions. Every livestock animal must be registered, tagged and tracked from birth to death.
Small Farmers who sell direct to their customers will be devastated. Small farmers already work at higher costs than the big factory farms. Under NAIS they’ll have to identify each and every animal at a high cost because they can’t use the group identification techniques of the big Agri-Biz corporations. The big guys do all-in/all-out animal management. Each mass group of animals are of one gene stock and the same age. The factory farms need only apply for one ID to cover the entire group of thousands of animals. Small, traditional-style farmers have many, genetically diverse animals of different ages on their farms. Each individual animal will be required to have an ID. The result is that the cost of farming will go up greatly for small farmers. This is likely to be the final nail in the coffin of small farming. Developers will be over joyed as they buy up farm land at rock bottom prices to divide up into condos and strip malls. Rural America will turn dingy with pavement. Gone will be the fields, pastures and meadows filled with grazing livestock. Vermont can kiss it’s tourist industry good-bye.
Sugar Mountain Farm Customers who buy our pastured pork, pigs, piglets, lambs and chickens will be looking at higher prices because it will cost us more time and money to fill out all the government’s paperwork and pay their ridiculous new fees. I would estimate that this will raise the price by $10 to $15 per animal, possibly more since the full fee structure is not yet known. More over, if you’re buying live animals like laying hens, lambs or piglets then you’ll have to get a Premise ID from the government for your home, pay the annual Premise ID fee and do any paperwork for each and every livestock animal you have as well as paying the associated animal fees. Currently you save money and get better meat by raising it yourself or buying our pasture raised products. Under NAIS you’ll pay more money for the same thing without any benefits.
Big Agri-Biz are the clear winners under NAIS. They will get expanded export markets and legal liability protection at minimal cost. Because small farmers will be forced out of business due to all the additional fees and paperwork the big Agri-Biz corporations will gain more domestic market, bigger monopolies, more market control and higher profits. They’re salivating at the prospect. Not only that, but it will be harder for individuals to raise their own better quality food, it will cost them more money and they’ll face more paperwork and government regulation.
Just what we all need - Not.
General — walterj 2:01 pm Edit
No. Despite recent claims by some, NAIS does nothing to stop disease or contamination in the food supply. NAIS was not intended for this purpose. The goal of the National Animal Identification System is to provide 48-hour trace back to the farm of origin in the case of problems so that the big agri-biz industry can increase their exports to foriegn markets. NAIS is about expanded profits. Also realize that “48-hour track back” is 48 hours after the problem is detected. That could be weeks or even months after the problem actually occured. NAIS is not about disease prevention - it is about track-back and more importantly expanded profits for the big corporate producers who want more export markets. Everything else about NAIS is a ruse to get the public to swallow their swill.
Most contamination of the food supply happens after the animals leave the farm. For example if animal intestines are improperly mixed with ground beef, a hydrolic hose breaks in a meat cutting factory or if a cutting blade breaks and leaves metal shards in the food it makes the food unacceptible for human consumption. If the problem is not reported at the factory and gets discovered later after the food has already been distributed and possibly sold to consumers then there is a recall. We frequently hear about this happening in the news. There is already a system to handle this type of problem. We do not need a new layer of government, paperwork and fees for this. Furthermore, the problem has nothing to do with the farm which is what NAIS is focused on.
As to disease, meat sold in stores and restaurants is already USDA inspected at slaughter and processing. If there were problems with disease in an animal then the inspectors should catch it at that level. Again NAIS does not help at all with disease prevention - it is after the fact and duplication of existing systems. The scary reality about meat from the big commercial producers is that there are not enough USDA inspectors so the inspection job is not getting done. This is part of why there are so many recalls. If the USDA would do its job then there would be no need for NAIS. NAIS is being used by the USDA as a diversion to hide from the fact that they aren’t up to snuff.
NAIS does nothing to stop the spread of BSE (Mad Cow Disease). It is believed that BSE is caused by the big Agri-Biz corporations and factory farmers practice of grinding up old cows and feeding them back to cows. The common practice used to be to grind up cow guts and add them to the cow feed to increase the protien levels of the feed. This also saved money on the disposal of the slaughter wastes. That practice has already been banned. Enforcing that ban is the solution to BSE and related diseases.
NAIS does not help with the much feared Avian Flu (H5N1) which is spread by wild birds. The biggest threat of bird flu and other diseases is to the large poultry factory style operations which have mono-genetic cultures. All of their livestock is the same geneome and thus easily wiped out by a single disease incidence. NAIS will do nothing to protect them or consumers. NAIS will make it very hard for regular people like you and me to keep a backyard flock for egg and meat production. Once again NAIS is the wrong tool being used on the wrong patient. The real question here is if the government is forcing NAIS down our throughts why does the USDA turn around and want to ship American chickens to China for slaughter and then back here again for consumption. Think money.
A better solution is for consumers to buy their meat from local farmers who raise their livestock on pasture where this is a non-issue. Buying local also means that your food was produced locally, you support your local farmers and less petrolium is used to ship the meat across the country. We are being told that we should use less petro, right?! Buying local keeps your money in your community rather than sending it far away to the pockets of big corporate ‘farms’. I put farms in quotes because what they do in their factories and feedlots is so far away from farming it is a joke. Big Agri-Biz does not like the Buy Local movement because it hurts their profits. NAIS will devistate the Buy Local movement - something Big Agri-Biz would love to see happen. Believe me you won’t see Tyson and the other big boys selling down at your local farmer’s market!
One of the NAISty things about the USDA’s proposal is that under NAIS they can come in and take your livestock without a warrant, without due process, without a legal hearing. They can then destroy or redistribute your animals without compensation to you. Valuable breeding stock can be wiped out in the crack of an inspector’s handgun and you had better not get in their way or you could go to prison. Failure to register your home or farm with a Premise ID already faces a $1,000 a day fine in some states. This is a violation of our Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights as outlined in the Bill of Rights.
NAIS will not prevent disease but it will dramatically raise costs for small farmers, homesteaders and ultimately for consumers. It will cost us money in fees, fines, tags and equipment. It will cost us time to fill out all the mountains of paperwork and track every individual little baby chick, every piglet, every lamb reporting every ‘event’. This added cost will drive many farmers out of business. The result will be a loss of local small farms and a consolidation of our food supply into the hands of fewer and fewer big corporations. NAIS is another example of Big Brother government helping Big Agri-Biz make more profits at the public’s expense. Remember to follow the money trail.
General — walterj 3:23 pm Edit
The USDA is rushing the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) through as fast as it is legally allowed to do. This minimizes comment from the users who will be hit hardest: consumers, pet owners, small farmers and homesteaders. The government is slipping NAIS through as a regulation authorized under the Patriot Act rather than having it be reviewed as legislation. This allows them to get less public comment and notice. Comment periods have already closed on many aspects without people even being aware that NAIS exists.
Meanwhile, the large ’stakeholders’, Big Agri-Biz, have had lots of opportunities to shape NAIS to fit their agenda at every turn of the draft development process. This is not democracy in action - this is an oligarchy of Big Govi-Corp doing what is best for their bottom line profits.
NAIS has its origins in the desire of the big meat producers to be able to better sell their products in foreign markets. Certain countries which import beef have banned US beef imports because of worries about disease and contamination. In an attempt to open up these markets, Big Agri-Biz came up with the original NAIS draft plan.
These big business factory farms were joined by animal tag manufacturers looking to maximize their market for unnecessary and costly products - what better way than to require all animals in America to be tagged!?! Making it mandatory was just all the more delicious.
All of this resulted in trade agreements between the United States and other countries that require the United States to implement electronic identification on all pets and livestock for “Farm to Fork” tracking of all meat.
These groups were able to advance their plan without legislative review by claiming it was a “Homeland Security” issue to secure our national herd and food supply against terrorists. This let the USDA to create NAIS as a regulation under the Patriot Act without the approval of our Congressional representatives. The worst part is that NAIS will consolidate our food supply into the hands of fewer and fewer giant corporations. The effect will be to endanger the very national herd and food supply they claim to want to protect - all while increasing the cost to consumers and taking away our traditional rights to farm.
For more information read this References document and this Permalink - TrackBack
General — walterj 3:24 pm Edit
We can stop NAIS by getting loud. Politicians need to hear our voice, the roar of the common people headed for the polls to vote them out of office this November for letting things like NAIS happen. Our politicians have been either asleep at the switch or actively conspiring with Big Agri-Biz to take away our freedoms.
The comment periods are still open. The USDA needs to know, in no uncertain terms, that people are not going to stand still for this sort of treatment. Big business should not be able to take over every aspect of our lives and profit from everything. Individual independence and freedom are more important to maintaining our national security than profits.
Act now. Speak up. Be heard. Spread the word.
Just say NO! to NAIS.
General — walterj 3:24 pm Edit
Below is the USDA’s schedule as outlined in the Draft Strategic Plan and Draft Program Standards on April 25, 2005. Currently NAIS is voluntary in most states although Texas and Wisconsin have already made the Premise ID portion mandatory with huge fines for non-compliance. NAIS is being put in place, as we speak, without our votes. The USDA’s plan is that NAIS will be mandatory for all farms and homes with any of the designated livestock. Note that the USDA and states can advance the plan faster than this timetable at their whim.
Timeline Facts
Beginning in 2002 - Using the 9/11 terrorist scare and the threat of BSE (mad cow disease) the USDA lobbied for more control and power.
April 2005 - USDA issued Draft Strategic Plan and Draft Program Standards for public comment. The public comment period for those documents ended in early July 2005. Virtually nobody in the “public” knew about the comment period or NAIS at this point. The USDA and its big stakeholders (Big Agri-Biz) have kept it all very hush-hush so that people would not resist this usurpation of private property and rights.
January 2006 - NAIS based rules implemented in Texas and Wisconsin. no exceptions.
July 2006 - USDA to issue rules setting forth the requirements for NAIS premises registration, animal identification, and animal tracking. This is a crucial time for consumers, homesteaders, pet owners and small farmers who will be harmed by NAIS. There will be a limited public comment period after publication of the rules, and objections expressed in the public comments may persuade the USDA to modify, or abandon, some requirements. Mark your calendars and start taking action now!
July 1, 2006 - Pemises registration will be compulsory in Texas
Fall 2007 - USDA to publish final rules of mandatory NAIS.
January 2008 - Premise ID and Animal ID become mandatory nationwide. It is already mandatory in some states, including Wisconsin and Texas starting January 2006.
January 1st, 2009 - Animal tracking, logging and reporting components of NAIS become mandatory. Strict enforcement, fines, inspections of properties and confiscation of livestock can be done by the USDA or state government without trial or legal hearings.
Pure speculation…
January 2nd, 2009 - U.S.A. christens the rise of the new Nazi era because Republicans, Democrats and Independents failed to stand up for their rights while they still could. All food production is controlled by the Govi-Corp conglomerate and pets are outlawed. Our Bill of Rights is retired and burned for kindling. The US Constitution is rewritten giving hereditary power to the Presidency under the Patriot Act. Voting is abolished and Congress is disbanded.
General — walterj 3:24 pm Edit
First of all take a deep breath and do not panic. Pace yourself. This is a long distance run. We need to send letters by both email and paper mail to our representatives in the government, newspapers, friends and family. Sending multiple letters over the coming months is a good idea. Getting other people to send letters is also important. Things you can do:
1. Link to NoNAIS.org to help spread the word. Read this document here about Linking to NoNAIS.org
“Should I sign electronic petitions?” Yes, but I do not have a lot of faith that they will be much good. I don’t think that the government listens to electronic petitions or puts much weight in them. Still, go ahead and do it because it is easy to do and maybe something good will come of it. However, do not just do that. Also take other actions as outlined above.
“Can I send money to NoNAIS.org?” No, we are not accepting donations at this time. I have some ideas for printing up masses of bumper stickers and decals to get the word out but that project is in the future. Your voice and actions are what count most. Protecting our freedoms is a long haul project - write letters every month to keep the ball rolling.
If you would like to get a bumper sticker, mug or T-shirt now then go over to the NoNAIS site at CafePress where you can pickup a few to help spread the word.
Most of all, talk about NAIS. Get other people interested. Spread the word. The government has conspired with big business to keep this quiet too long. We must speak up and be heard. What we need is the power of the voice of the people. The force of people speaking up and rejecting this absurd usurpation of our rights, our freedoms. Take a stand now while you still can. Lets once again make this be “America, the Land of the Free and the Brave!”
Popular NoNAIS.org Articles
March 31, 2006
Background Info — walterj 7:11 am Edit
Yesterday I received a reply from Senator Leahy. It is aways hard to tell with him if it is just a canned response, a form letter or perhaps a real live personal letter. I did note a change in attitude, a little softening of his previously hard stance supporting the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). This is important as our dear Senator Leahy from Vermont, along with Arlen Spector of PA, was one of the enabling supporters of legislation that allowed the USDA to create the monster of NAIS. Below is my letter replying to Senator Leahy followed by his letter. I post this as an overview and review of the issues.
Dear Senator Leahy,
It is good to see that you are starting to realize that there are problems with the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) but I do not think you understand the true burden that NAIS will put on small farmers and folks raising their own food. I also do not think you realize how outraged people are about NAIS invading their privacy and trampling on their Constitutional rights. There is no need for the Premise ID, Animal ID or tracking of these people. On top of all that, NAIS will not be an effective system of disease control. Disease prevention could be accomplished with much simpler and less intrusive methods such as educating people in proper bio-security and health practices. We do not need Big Brother micromanaging our lives.
On a related note, right now you are on my “Naughty” list in the right hand sidebar of my web site http://NoNAIS.org because of your support for NAIS and for your part in creating this monstrosity. While I like that you are modifying your stance about NAIS I am still not at all pleased with your representation of Vermonters in Washington. You supporting the big moneyed interests at the loss to common Vermonters. We voted for you, not big lobbyists.
I speak to you as someone who has supported you in the past, a Vermonter and small farmer. We do not need NAIS in the slightest. Our pastured pork customers know exactly where their food comes from - it was bred, born and raised on our farm. Customers can come by and see their food in our fields any day of the week. If someone wants to know where their food comes from, they should Buy Local which supports their local farmers, preserves open spaces and puts money into their local economy rather than the pockets of big Agri-Biz in distant corporate offices. If they want trace-back then they should pay a premium in a voluntary, market driven system so that the farmers get paid something extra for providing the service which will cost them time and money.
Our secondary sales are piglets, mostly to the many hundreds of rural folk who want to raise a summer pig for themselves, family and friends in order to put meat on the table. They do not need any government bureaucracy to tell them where the pig came from. Those people came to our farm, picked up the piglet and took it home to raise. They know exactly where their pig came from, they know what they fed it and how it was cared for to produce quality home-grown pork. Homesteaders don’t need the government intrusion in raising healthy food. NAIS will burden them with about $500 a year in added expense with no benefit. This amounts to hidden tax on food they have raised themselves. Not only is that unfair, since food is not normally taxed, but you are putting this burden on poorer, rural folk who can least afford to pay out more money each year from their meager incomes.
Perhaps NAIS might be a good idea for the large factory farms and feed lots selling into the anonymous commercial food stream of big stores. Maybe NAIS will help the big beef exporters sell to foreign markets, like Japan, which is the original reason for NAIS. It will certainly make the RFID industry rich with selling 12,000,000,000 mandatory tags a year at $3 a pop. NAIS will put money into the states’ coffers as a hidden tax at 2,000,000 “farm premises” at $10 each for Premise ID - taxing us on something we have always done with no benefit. What NAIS will not do is help small farms, the rural poor or consumers who will ultimately pay the price through less choice and higher prices as the national food supply is consolidated into the hands of fewer and fewer large corporations. NAIS only benefits the rich.
NAIS is not necessary or beneficial to small family farms, homesteaders or pet livestock owners. NAIS will cost us time and money in the form of increased taxes, fees, fines, tags, equipment and wasted time filling out more government forms. Imagine doing your own taxes every week of the year. NAIS is so complex that a great many people will get it wrong and be assessed enormous, onerous fines for simple mistakes making criminals out of honest people.
NAIS started out as a way of opening foreign markets for the few big beef exporters. That justification is still the real reason for NAIS but it is not a politically correct reason so the USDA had to come up with some other excuse. Disease prevention is the new justification for NAIS. At first they said BSE claim that NAIS is not necessary for BSE prevention (Testimony by Steve Kerr, VT Ag Comm.) which is simply caused by feeding cows to cows - imagine that! Now they are claiming we need NAIS to prevent Avian Influenza. NAIS won’t prevent Avian Flu. Migratory wild birds and human travelers are the vectors for avian flu. NAIS will do nothing for either of those and knowing where all the domestic birds are located will also do nothing good as they are merely terminal hosts.
Moreover, NAIS does not track domestic pet cats, who are a host of Bird Flu and NAIS and Premise ID does nothing about the exotic bird trade and pet stores [per VT Ag Com Kerr 3/22/06 hearing] which is a much more likely source of problems than bio-diverse heritage breeds of backyard poultry. Why doesn’t the USDA and Vermont Agriculture Department want to include these species? Because the American people would virtually all be directly affected. If everyone were the targeted they would strongly oppose NAIS. Instead the USDA is picking on a small minority group who lacks powerful lobbyists to protect them - the last remaining family farmers. NAIS is not about disease, it is about profits and power for a select few rich and powerful corporations.
If the government really wants to do something about Avian Flu then they should be educating the public on how to take care of themselves, how to always keep on hand a three month supply of food, how to do basic first aid, how to survive, not just a pandemic, but all sorts of disasters from earth quakes to hurricanes to floods and more. After all, it has been repeatedly proven that we can not depend on the government for help in times of crisis. If you want to help people, teach them to safely raise their own food so that more people might actually have a chance of surviving troubled times. But no, that is not something we’ll see the government do because people living independently does not sell RFID tags, factory farmed chicken nuggets, feedlot stuffed beef, drive the economy or generate more taxes and fees for the state & federal coffers. Our government has fallen into a rut of co-dependence that is producing a weaker and weaker country. Lets see you get a spine and stand up — fight for a stronger, more independent America.
Lastly, the USDA’s proposed NAIS is unconstitutional. Specifically it violates the 1st, 4th, 5th, 14th and possibly the 13th Amendments to the United States Constitution. The foundation of our country, our Bill of Rights, is already under gross assaults from many sides. We do not need more tyrannical Nanny State regulations passed down from the USDA that will give them invasive powers to violate our privacy, circumvent due process of law and do warrant-less searches. As ex-Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner recently observed, our country is slipping towards dictatorship. The government should not be in the fascist business of micromanaging Americans’ lives - we are supposed to be the land of the free. You are our representative in the Senate for Vermont and I expect you to standup for the common folks’ rights, to protect our independence from overreaching government bureaucracy and big corporate greed.
If we are to have trace-back, a stated purpose of NAIS, then it should be a completely voluntary system that is totally market driven. Frankly, there is not even a need for the USDA, or the government in any form, to be involved. If buyers like McDonald’s want it, let them pay farmers something extra to provide that service. With NAIS being mandatory there will be no premium for the added cost of providing trace-back. Small farmers will be deprived of income by a mandatory program that would make them work harder to earn the same wage. NAIS hurts farmers coming and going. Keeping NAIS 100% voluntary will benefit farmers, homesteaders, rural folk and ultimately consumers. It will leave the burden off of those of use who do not need it and should not have to bear this cost just for the benefit of a few rich corporations.
Thank you,
Walter Jeffries
A Pretty Pissed Off Pig Producer
Sugar Mountain Farm
Senator Leahy’s form letter that prompted my letter above:
Dear Mr. Jeffries:
Thank you for contacting me about the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I appreciate hearing from you.
Since 1998, I have been proud to work with the Holstein Association in Brattleboro to create an animal identification pilot program. The Holstein Association’s program, partially funded with assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is a precursor to the NAIS that electronically identifies individual animals and tracks their movements from birth to slaughter within 48 hours. To date, the Holstein Association’s pilot program has proven its electronic tracking capabilities with over a million bovines enrolled from over 7,000 farms in 42 states.
While the USDA has laid the groundwork of a national system through the work of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and through their work with the Holstein Association, they have delayed full implementation of individual animal identification until this year. I am concerned with the USDA’s lack of a plan to fund the program. Unfortunately, the USDA does not intend to assist producers with the costs of a national identification program nor has USDA proposed any assistance for meat processors. I believe this cost will be a burden on many small farmers and should be funded in part through the USDA budget. Furthermore, the USDA has issued contradictory statements regarding their intention to make this system mandatory or voluntary.
As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I will continue to urge the USDA to implement this plan keeping in mind its purpose to project animal health and avoid the spread of animal disease. Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue.
Patrick Leahy
UNITED STATES SENATOR
February 18, 2006
Background Info — walterj 10:25 am Edit
I told you so. There, I said it. I have said all along that NAIS would get extended to our pets and then humans. People doubted me. I dearly wish I were wrong. They are trying to pass Bill A09775 in New York that states:
An amendment that requires dog owners to implant a microchip that includes owner`s contact information and dog’s medical history. A registry of dogs shall be created at the time of dog licensing. This registry will be made available to veterinarians, shelters and kennels for the purposes of identification.
Remember that on a federal level the (in)Humane Society and P e t a are pushing through PAWS, legislation that could make it illegal or expensive to have breeding animals. This will hurt pet owners, make it hard to get good quality working dogs and be disastrous to farmers in one more way.
In addition to our livestock we have livestock guardian dogs. We have a new litter every year or two because it takes a pack of dogs to protect against packs of coyotes, bear, cougar, fisher cats, hawks, etc. With their high intelligence, thick double fur coat, size, temperament, instincts and being raised up on a farm from birth, our dogs are uniquely qualified for our situation of extreme cold winters, herding and guarding. You can not just go down to the pound and get any old mutt to do the job. The dogs must be raised in the environment they work in as adults with the livestock they will learn to guard.
The catch is we don’t keep all of our dogs, some we train and sell as working dogs to other farm families and homesteaders. Other farmers and homesteaders need a source of good quality working dogs. PAWS would destroy this or at the very least make it unnecessarily difficult and expensive to raise traditional working dogs as has been done for centuries, all under the guise of stopping puppy mills. Puppy mills are bad but the way they are setting up the laws they are throwing the baby (good responsible breeders) out with the bath water (puppy mills). That is bad legislation.
These nut cases from the in-Human.e Society and P e t a would take away our ability to keep our own breed. Is destroying small farms and homesteads part of their goal? I already know that they want to end the natural strong relationship between humans and domestic animals.
Then lets think about the American Disabilities Act. A lot of people have companion working dogs that help them live better lives. I see PAWS and Bill A09775 going head to head in conflict with ADA. Legal challenges right there never mind all the Constitutional rights they are trampling on.
If you value your pets, working companion dogs and other species then you need to fight PAWS, dog breed restriction laws, NAIS and other insidious invasions of our traditional rights. A big BOOO -HISSSS and thumbs down to NY State for even attempting this.
So how does this apply to humans you ask? Well, what do you think REAL ID is all about. One of King George’s pet plans. Okay, a hint, rearrange the letters. REAL ID -> RE ID -> RFID… No, this is not simple paranoia at work. The REAL ID plan is all about putting RFID into your wallet on your new drivers license. This will be readable by government (and criminal or corporate) ID readers at a distance of up to 30 feet. But it goes further. Check out this article about former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson who now is on the board of directors of Applied Digital, makers of the VeriChip RFID tracking chip for people and pets.
“It’s very beneficial and it’s going to be extremely helpful and it’s a giant step forward to getting what we call an electronic medical record for all Americans,” he told CBS MarketWatch.” -WorldNetDaily
Yet, according to the article above, Thompson himself is reluctant to get chipped! They want to chip our pets and us but won’t do it for themselves. What does that suggest to you?
While you’re at it, also check out this article about Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) introducing S. 1262 which will better let the government track your RFID “health” data. It’s not just the Republican Administration who is pushing this vile invasion of our privacy. It is the whole Govi-Corp. Also read this for more thrills and chills.
Tag, you’re next.
March 30, 2006
Action Item, Commentary — walterj 6:32 am Edit
When they find out about the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) some people say to me, “I just won’t register.” Yes, you might get away with that but I would not suggest taking that as a policy. The reason is quite simple. The fines can easily be $1,000 or even more per incident per day. Each unregistered animal you have could count as a seperate incident. How many chickens do you have? 10? Well, that comes to $10,000 per day in fines. Lets say they wait and enforce the rule on you after three months. That is 93 x $10,000 = $930,000 in fines for non-compliance. They will take your home, your land, your livestock, your vehicles, your savings, everything. Without a home you won’t have a farm or a place to come home to after work. You probably won’t have a job - few homeless people can keep their jobs. You would be destitute. Ask yourself, “Do you really want to start over from scratch at this point in your life?”
Simply thinking, “I won’t register” is not good enough. You must fight NAIS now while you still have the chance to have an effect. Leave comments with the USDA. Write Neil Hammerschmidt, the USDA Animal ID Coordinator. Write your state department of agriculture. Write your legislative representatives at both the state and federal levels in the House and Senate. Write your governor. Write the President or call him at 1-800-696-6322 where you can leave comments with a live operator. Write letters to the editor to your your local newspapers. Put a bumper sticker on your car. Hang up posters. Pass around handouts.
Spread the word. The more people who know about the harmful effects of NAIS the more people who will get upset and do something about it. Don’t be lazy and think you can just get away without registering. Sticking your head in the sand won’t make it go away.
March 26, 2006
Commentary — walterj 6:39 pm Edit
I read the article “McDonald’s exec: BSE testing adequate, ID needed” with interest. A market driven program is the way NAIS should be done. If you wish to sell a product you must produce it to the buyers specifications. Unless you have a virtual monopoly like Microsoft but that is a different issue.
“We feel very strongly about animal ID. From our expectations (of NAIS), yesterday would have been a better timeline” to implement the mandatory ID system.” -McDonald’s Corp. spokesman Robert Cannell
The confusion is that the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) should NOT be mandated by the government. It should be voluntary and then McDonald’s can offer to buy only from source verified vendors. The reason that McDonald’s wants a mandatory system is so they will not have to pay for it. They do not want to pay a premium for better services or better quality. Typical big corporate greed.
NAIS should be 100% voluntary and market driven. Voluntary market driven Animal ID is proper capitalism and good. Making NAIS 100% voluntary eliminates virtually all of the objections to the program. If you don’t want to participate, don’t. Voluntary means there are no fees, no fines, no warrant-less searches, no mandatory tracking and reporting, no unnecessary paperwork, no Constitutional violations, no conflicts with religion, no fascist, heavy handed, Big Brother, Nanny State, totalitarian Bureaucratic Slavery (BS).
By pushing for mandatory Animal ID McDonald’s is trying to save themselves money and hurting cattle ranchers in the process. In a market driven voluntary system the producers who offer trace-back would get paid a premium for doing so. In a mandatory system there will be no premium because everyone is required to provide the trace-back to the same level, even if it is not desired by the customer. Even more McDonald’s is hurting over two million small farmers and homesteaders. These little people are the ones who are hurt most by a mandatory NAIS because we do not need it yet we are burdened with its costs. A mandatory system is wrong.
McDonald’s is a capitalist corporation, or so we thought, but instead of pushing for good old clean capitalism they are pressing for government involvement to create a system that will be a tremendous burden on producers large and small. McDonald’s is attempting to shift their burden, their costs, onto the little guy - everybody is a little guy compared to Micky-D.
Sugar Mountain Farm is not a big meat producer. On our farm we sell pastured meat 100% direct to individual customers who want to “Buy Local” instead of getting their meat from far off factory farms. They like to support their local economy and get better quality meat from happy pigs that got to free range on real mountain pastures. Our customers already know where their food comes from. They don’t need for the government to add extra wasteful layers of bureaucracy and cost to the system that already works. If our customers want to see their source verified food they just drive by our fields. Same goes for homesteaders, people who are raise their own meat, eggs, milk and fiber - they don’t need the government telling them where it comes from. They know.
We don’t need a fascist big Govi-Corp micro-managing our lives. Support a push for NAIS being kept as a 100% voluntary program. That is good capitalism that will put more money in farmers’ pockets.
March 16, 2006
Coast Listeners Call to Action
Action Item — walterj 12:00 am Edit
Thank you Coast to Coast Radio listeners for dropping by! I appreciate your taking the time to learn more about how the USDA’s National Animal Identification System (NAIS) would hurt small family farmers, homesteaders and pet owners. Ultimately consumers will pay the price as choice becomes limited and prices go up when control of our national food supply is consolidated into the hands of fewer and fewer large corporate factory farms. Here are some ways you can help make a difference:
Get Informed
The government’s most powerful tool in this battle for our rights is secrecy and apathy. Lets change that and take back our great country!
Stay Informed
By staying informed you are empowering yourself against the government and big corporations that would steal away your rights and freedoms.
Speak Out
Let legislators, bureaucrats and other folks know what you think about NAIS. If they realize that this is a hot button topic they’ll want to be sure to come down on the right side of the fence - the people’s side.
Spread the Word
To break the government’s lock of secrecy we need to inform more people about NAIS. Once people find out about how the USDA is sneaking this through they get upset and want to stop it. So spread the word!
What ever you do, do not voluntarily signup for Premise ID. It is a slippery slope down into fascist Big Brother government. Many people are being “voluntarily” signed up without their permission so watch out for suspicious questionnaires in the mail or by phone. In most states, you are not required at this time to sign up for Animal ID or Premise ID, two of the components of NAIS. Know your rights.
Feel free to use the sample letters below which you can copy to your email program or word processor, print, sign and send. For a more powerful message, modify the letter to fit your views or, best of all, write your own letters for the greatest impact.
Sample Letter #1:
I am very opposed to the National Animal ID System. It is an invasion of our privacy and our rights. The real reason for the system is to give profits to the big meat exporters. Disease prevention can be better achieved through simple bio-security procedures without having to trample all over the Constitution. Please stop the USDA and states from implementing Premise ID, Animal ID and Animal Tracking. NAIS should be kept 100% voluntary. At the very least, we need an exemption for small farmers, homesteaders and pet livestock owners. Please go to http://NoNAIS.org to learn more about this unreasonable regulation.
Sample Letter #2:
I am concerned that USDA’s National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is going to destroy the wonderful Buy Local movement that has just been getting its feet off the ground. The burden of NAIS is going to be overwhelming for small farmers who sell directly to customers.
There is no need for tracking their animals nor is there any need to track the animals of pet owners (horses, etc) or homesteaders who are raising their own food. There should be exemptions for these groups. NAIS might be a good idea for those big, horrible factory farms and for big farms that sell into the commercial food distribution system, but it is a bad idea for local farmers.
People interested in learning more about NAIS should go to http://NoNAIS.org
“Should I sign electronic petitions?” Yes, but I do not have a lot of faith that they will be much good. I don’t think that the government listens to electronic petitions or puts much weight in them. Still, go ahead and do it because it is easy to do and maybe something good will come of it. However, do not just do that. Also take other actions as outlined above.
“Can I send money to NoNAIS.org?” No, I am not accepting donations at this time. I have some ideas for printing up masses of bumper stickers and decals to get the word out, but that project is in the future. Your voice and actions are what count most. Protecting our freedoms is a long haul project so be prepared to write letters every month to keep the ball rolling. If you really want to spend money, buy ads in newspapers, on Google and other places that will help spread the word. Some people are already doing this with great results.
Talk about NAIS. Get other people interested. Spread the word. The government has conspired with big business to keep this quiet too long. We must speak up and be heard. What we need is the power of the voice of the people. The force of people speaking up and rejecting this absurd usurpation of our rights, our freedoms. Take a stand now while you still can. Lets once again make this be “America, the Land of the Free and the Brave!”
General — walterj 5:29 pm Edit
I just got a call from “‘Alice’ calling on behalf of the USDA.” She wanted to know if I would take part in a survey and said it would only take up a few minutes of my time. I asked what the questions are. She started by asking about our farm, how many acres we had, what types of animals. I refused to answer any questions because it turns out she’s gathering the information that they could use to “Voluntarily” enroll me in NAIS without my permission.
This already happened in Washington state. Watch out! The USDA and some states are making a big deal about how many “voluntary” enrollments they already have from farmers. They use this number to emphisize that farmers strongly support NAIS. Makes me wonder. I did not participate in the “Survey.”
Be very wary of any communications from the USDA and other agencies. Remember: “They’re from the government and they’re here to ‘help’ us.”
[UPDATE: Read CB’s story in comments! Her story is even more 1984ish.]
Comments »
January 30, 2006
Alert - State — walterj 1:52 am Edit
With House Bill 1361 Texas legislators are determined to keep track of every single little baby chick in Texas. Each cutie must be tagged with a 15 digit number to identify it. All locations containing livestock animals must register as farms. $10 annual premise ID and premise registration fee will be required for all homes where any animal ever exists, even if just visiting. Anyone found not reporting a baby chick hatching, movement or death will face a fine of $1,000 per day for non-compliance. Similar fines for all other forms of livestock were also enacted. With all this paperwork, fees and fines forget about 4-H. Forget about Future Farmers of America.
Forget about that baby chick hatching school project. Homesteaders, you better eat your chickens now and don’t bother counting them. No more eggs. No more summer pigs. Slaughter that fatted calf. From now on plan on purchasing your food only at government approved distribution centers with sufficiently powerful lobbyists and friends in high places. Sorry small farmers - no more farmer’s market or farm stands in the future. The paperwork will destroy small farmers. So dies the Buy Local movement.
This monstrosity was originally brought to you by your friends at the USDA under the guise of NAIS - the National Animal Identification System. The Texas Animal Health Commission, which developed the rules in Texas, can be reached with comments on this absurdity by email until 5pm February 6th, 2006. The question is, are they really listening. Be sure that after that short “public comment” period they’re going to cover their collective eyes and ears as the food supply consolidates into the hands of the big producers. Do you think that will make the national food supply safer?
Perhaps our pseudo-elected Govi-Corp doesn’t have enough to do, so they sit around thinking up things like this. Remember: Idle hands do the devil’s work…
March 20, 2006
Action Item — walterj 9:24 am Edit
Easy action item today. Tell the USDA what you think about the dangers to small farmers and homesteaders from the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
Neil Hammerschmidt
USDA Animal ID Coordinator,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Let the USDA know what you’re thinking!
Sample NoNAIS.org Resources
If you are seeing this in a PDF document on line the links may be clickable to take you to web pages and documents. In printed copy the links are not clickable. On web site all are clickable.
• Contacts
• President at the White House
• Technical Documents
• Guide to Organization of NAIS
• How Agri-Biz Hijacked the USDA
• Public Servant Questionnaire
• US Const. Bill of Rights A1-10
• ~Naughty: Pro-NAIS
• American Dairy Goat Association
• PA Senator Arlen Spector (R)
• VT Com. of Agriculture Steve Kerr
• VT Senator Patrick Leahy (D)
• WA Senator Marilyn Rasmussen
• ~Nice: Anti-NAIS
• MO Libertarian Candate Greg Arrigo
• San Angelo, TX Livestock Owners
• TN Emory "Bo" Heyward for Senate
• TX Gov. Canidate Carole Strayhorn