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!

1. Read the Handout. It explains the background and dangers of NAIS in a one sheet summary including web links to supporting documentation.
2. Check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at left which answer the basics.
3. See additional articles from this site and others - see links in the left and right sidebars.
4. Extra Credit: Read the 84 pages of USDA draft regulations for NAIS. See the Technical Documents section of the right hand sidebar of this page.

Stay Informed

By staying informed you are empowering yourself against the government and big corporations that would steal away your rights and freedoms.

1. Get email alerts from NoNAIS.org in the top of the right hand sidebar.
2. Subscribe to the NoNAIS.org RSS feed or;
3. Bookmark NoNAIS.org and come back often to check out what’s happening.
4. Extra Credit: Join a NoNAIS discussion list - see right sidebar for national and state-by-state lists.

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.

1. Sign a petition. This is the easiest thing to do but probably the one most likely to be ignored by the government.
2. Give feedback to the USDA.
3. Email Neil Hammerschmidt who is the USDA Animal ID Coordinator.
4. Email or write your state legislative members. This carries far more weight than a petition. See the sample letters below. Paper letters have much more of an impact than email and it only costs 39¢ 44¢ for a first class stamp. Even a simple postcard will do the trick. (Note that postage increases time to time and I don’t keep this sentence up to date. Check with the USPS if you are not sure of the correct postage to use.)
5. Email or write to your Congressional representatives in the House and Senate.
6. Extra Credit: Organize a rally to get media attention, speak at a meeting or on a talk show.

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!

1. Link to NoNAIS.org on your web pages and blogs. See these instructions. This also helps NoNAIS.org’s search engine page ranking.
2. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. This helps spread the word so that other people know about the dangers of NAIS, can find this web site and take action. See the sample letters below.
3. Pass out the NoNAIS handout to people you know, leave it at gatherings, libraries, general stores, etc.
4. Hang-up the NoNAIS Poster and hang it up on bulletin boards. This is an eye catcher that includes tear off tabs with contact info to get people to come to NoNAIS.org to find out more about NAIS. A postal address is included for people who lack internet access.
5. Become a mobile billboard - Put a bumper sticker on your car or hang the NoNAIS Poster. If you want you can even print your own bumper stickers using the artwork here.
6. Extra Credit: Place ads in your local newspapers and advertising papers using your own ad design or one of these ads. Local sales paper ad spots are often very inexpensive running $10 to $150 per week depending on ad size and newspaper circulation. This will reach a great many people.
7. Bonus Credit: Tattoo NoNAIS.org across your forehead. Note: this is only for extremists over the age of 18, not recommended if you work for a Fortune 500 company, permanent tattoos are, keep off the grass, void where prohibited…

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!”

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
in Vermont