Im a Bad Girl
01-30-2008, 06:45 AM
A friend of mine sent this to me today. I thought people here might be interested in this.
He writes:
I am asking your help in stopping a very diabolical scheme that was put together by big business and threatens the free choice of all Americans. The scheme is called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and it is, and will continue to, force small livestock owners out of business, eliminating people's choice in the foods they purchase. Greatly limited, or gone, will be antibiotic-free meat and eggs, as well as grassfed beef and free-ranging chickens.
The NAIS was initiated in 2003 by the USDA under the pretext of being able to inform all livestock owners of a disease outbreak within 48 hours. The program was to be 'voluntary', but Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana made it law. The first step of the NAIS is to have all premises with livestock (even one chicken, one pig, one horse (yes, they're included, as are llamas, etc.) registered with the USDA by 2006. In 2008 all livestock are to have a unique 15 digit identification code, and by 2009 all livestock are to be tagged with Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID).
All animals are to be tracked from birth to death with mountains of documentation recording their every movement. Want to take your horse for a trailride or to a show? First you must inform the USDA of your intent, and then report when the animal is again on the premises. 4-H kids are not being allowed to show their livestock projects at county fairs unless their premises are registered, so this past year many kids were turned away, or their parents registered against their will. This occurred on a national scale.
I attended a Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing on proposed changes in Appleton, WI, in January, 2008. The DATCP is trying to enforce compliance among livestock raisers in Wisconsin, and is proposing changes to the rules. One of those changes is to allow the DATCP to register anyone's premises against their will, and penalize the landowner for non-compliance. Remember, even if you have one chicken.
Mother Earth News ran a very informative article on the NAIS in the June/July 2007 issue, and this can be read at: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock-and-Farming/2007-06-01/National-Animal-ID-System.aspx
I encourage everyone to read this article to find the truth about the NAIS, and decide if it's really about informing livestock owners of a disease outbreak within 48 hours, or about big business eliminating choice and increasing their profits.
I could go on at length concerning the NAIS and the Orwellian implications, but I don't want to tire you out in one sitting. I have been writing to my representatives and state senators, and am dismayed that they responded that they favor the storyline. Those of us who are opposed to this invasion of privacy and treading on of our freedoms are trying to figure out how to inform the public before food choices and freedoms are gone, and this is my way at the moment. If this email is sent to everyone in your address book, and to everyone in those people's address book, soon many more Americans will know what's happening.
This is real, this is happening, and it isn't going to stop with the NAIS. I received and email today from a friend near Park Falls, WI, informing me that 'The USDA will be writing regs concerning fresh produce production under the Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007 thanks to Herb Kohl and Tom Harkin. It will do to small veg growers what NAIS would to small livestock growers.'
For those who are as appalled with the USDA and DATCP's actions as I am, and who would like to learn more about what's happening with the NAIS, an excellent and comprehensive website is www.nonais.org
Some of the states have passed legislation stating that the NAIS is to never be mandatory there, but for those of us who live in states where the legislators aren't as concerned about personal freedom and choice, please write, call and/or email your representative and state senator requesting an immediate repeal of the NAIS mandate.
Thanks for reading this, and please pass it on. Our freedom depends on it.
Sincerely,
Gerard Schubert
Wisconsin Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (WICFA)
He writes:
I am asking your help in stopping a very diabolical scheme that was put together by big business and threatens the free choice of all Americans. The scheme is called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and it is, and will continue to, force small livestock owners out of business, eliminating people's choice in the foods they purchase. Greatly limited, or gone, will be antibiotic-free meat and eggs, as well as grassfed beef and free-ranging chickens.
The NAIS was initiated in 2003 by the USDA under the pretext of being able to inform all livestock owners of a disease outbreak within 48 hours. The program was to be 'voluntary', but Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana made it law. The first step of the NAIS is to have all premises with livestock (even one chicken, one pig, one horse (yes, they're included, as are llamas, etc.) registered with the USDA by 2006. In 2008 all livestock are to have a unique 15 digit identification code, and by 2009 all livestock are to be tagged with Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID).
All animals are to be tracked from birth to death with mountains of documentation recording their every movement. Want to take your horse for a trailride or to a show? First you must inform the USDA of your intent, and then report when the animal is again on the premises. 4-H kids are not being allowed to show their livestock projects at county fairs unless their premises are registered, so this past year many kids were turned away, or their parents registered against their will. This occurred on a national scale.
I attended a Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing on proposed changes in Appleton, WI, in January, 2008. The DATCP is trying to enforce compliance among livestock raisers in Wisconsin, and is proposing changes to the rules. One of those changes is to allow the DATCP to register anyone's premises against their will, and penalize the landowner for non-compliance. Remember, even if you have one chicken.
Mother Earth News ran a very informative article on the NAIS in the June/July 2007 issue, and this can be read at: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock-and-Farming/2007-06-01/National-Animal-ID-System.aspx
I encourage everyone to read this article to find the truth about the NAIS, and decide if it's really about informing livestock owners of a disease outbreak within 48 hours, or about big business eliminating choice and increasing their profits.
I could go on at length concerning the NAIS and the Orwellian implications, but I don't want to tire you out in one sitting. I have been writing to my representatives and state senators, and am dismayed that they responded that they favor the storyline. Those of us who are opposed to this invasion of privacy and treading on of our freedoms are trying to figure out how to inform the public before food choices and freedoms are gone, and this is my way at the moment. If this email is sent to everyone in your address book, and to everyone in those people's address book, soon many more Americans will know what's happening.
This is real, this is happening, and it isn't going to stop with the NAIS. I received and email today from a friend near Park Falls, WI, informing me that 'The USDA will be writing regs concerning fresh produce production under the Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007 thanks to Herb Kohl and Tom Harkin. It will do to small veg growers what NAIS would to small livestock growers.'
For those who are as appalled with the USDA and DATCP's actions as I am, and who would like to learn more about what's happening with the NAIS, an excellent and comprehensive website is www.nonais.org
Some of the states have passed legislation stating that the NAIS is to never be mandatory there, but for those of us who live in states where the legislators aren't as concerned about personal freedom and choice, please write, call and/or email your representative and state senator requesting an immediate repeal of the NAIS mandate.
Thanks for reading this, and please pass it on. Our freedom depends on it.
Sincerely,
Gerard Schubert
Wisconsin Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (WICFA)