We belong to the Weston Price Foundation and they sent us this update on NAIS, since we no longer have the Gaited Horse Magizine to help keep it in our awareness up I thought I would pass the info along.
The Westin Price Foundation concern is about the quality of our food supply, and NAIS will make it impossible to be a small farmer.... But the info is great and is new, we as horse people are also concerned about what that will do to us and the movement of our horses. Some of us own small farms and do not feel the need to tell the government that we just moved our herd of sheep from this pasture over to another one, or that one of them died or was slaughtered. I live out here on raw land, out in the sticks to stay as far away from government as I can possibly be.....I actually could not still live in the US and be any further away, unless I moved to Guam.....its a little small and there are no horses. So call your Senators, this is a BAD Bill. Skye --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:44:32 -0700 (PDT) > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: URGENT NAIS ACTION ALERT > > > URGENT NAIS ALERT: > Call the Senate Agriculture Committee IMMEDIATELY. > > The Senate Agriculture Committee has just released the draft > language of the Farm Bill, which will be discussed by the Committee > tomorrow. The bad news is that the Livestock Title includes the > National Animal Identification System (NAIS)! Senator Harkin has > included a provision that defines NAIS and addresses > confidentiality of the information collected under it. This > section implies approval of the USDA's program, without addressing > the many problems with NAIS, including the USDA's misleading and > coercive tactics. > > TAKE ACTION: Call the Senators listed below. Ask to speak to the > staffer who handles agricultural issues, not just the front desk. > > MESSAGE: I want section 10305 taken out of the Farm Bill. I do > not want NAIS included in the Farm Bill in any manner at all. > While we appreciate Senator Harkin trying to protect people's > privacy, the provision does more harm than good. The Senate should > not imply approval for any form of federally planned or funded > NAIS. > > KEY CONTACTS: > > Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of Agriculture Committee > (D-IA) 202-224-3254 > > Senator Saxby Chambliss, Ranking Member (R-GA) > 202-224-3521 > > Your Senators: > Go to www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm > or call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 or toll free at > 877-851-6437 > > For more information, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or > call the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance at 866-687-6452. > > ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: > > Calls to other members of the Agriculture Committee are most > effective when they come from people within the state the Senator > represents. But, as Committee members, they are supposed to take > input from anyone. If you have extra time after calling your > Senators, Senator Harkin, and Senator Chambliss, call the other > members, listed below. And pass this on to your friends and > relatives in those states! > > Other Members of the Committee: > Patrick Leahy (D-VT) 202-224-4242 > Kent Conrad (D-ND) 202-224-2043 > Max Baucus (D-MT) 202-224-2651 > Blanch Lincoln (D-AR) 202-224-4843 > Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) 202-224-4822 > Ben Nelson (D-NE) 202-224-6551 > Ken Salazar (D-CO) 202-224-5852 > Sherrod Brown (D-OH) 202-224-2315 > Robert Casey (D-PA) 202-224-6324 > Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 202-224-3244 > Richard Lugar (R-IN) 202-224-4814 > Thad Cochran (R-MS) 202-224-5054 > Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 202-224-2541 > Pat Roberts (R-KS) 202-224-4774 > Lindsey Graham (R-SC) 202-224-5972 > Norm Coleman (R-MN) 202-224-5641 > Mike Crapo (R-ID) 202-224-6142 > John Thune (R-SD) 202-224-2321 > Charles Grassley (R-IA) 202-224-3744 > > MORE INFORMATION > > Section 10305 of the draft Farm Bill provides: > > Sec. 10305: Protection of Information in the Animal Identification > System: > The Animal Health Protection Act (7 USC 8301 et seq.) is amended > ... by inserting ... the following: > > (a) Definition of National Animal Identification System - In this > section, the term "national animal identification system" means a > system for identifying or tracing animals that is established by > the Secretary, > (b) Protection from Disclosure .... > > For the full provision, go to http://agriculture.senate.gov/ and > follow the links for the Farm Bill. > > TALKING POINTS > > Please do not put any provision for NAIS in the Farm Bill. It is > not right to insert a section to address confidentiality of > information collected under NAIS, without addressing the myriad > abuses that USDA has committed under the program. > > NAIS will hurt our economy: > > * There still is no cost-benefit analysis of NAIS. USDA has only > recently requested one from Kansas State University. The study is > unlikely to be a thorough or unbiased study, given that Kansas > State has just established a federally-funded Animal Identification > Center. > > * Costs of the program include the cost of the tags, hardware, > software, time and labor > > * Many small farmer and ranchers cannot afford these costs > > * Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, > meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers > go out of business. > > Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, adding to > inflation > > The USDA has provided no scientific proof to show that NAIS will > improve disease control: > * It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of > disease, in domestic or wild animals. > > * It does not significantly improve on current methods for > identification and tracking of disease. > > NAIS is not necessary for the market. Age- and source-verification > is already available through the USDA's Process Verified Program > > NAIS will not improve food safety: > * USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program > > * Contamination of food with e. coli and other bacteria occurs at > the slaughterhouse or afterwards, while NAIS will stop before that > point. > > NAIS will not protect against terrorism: > * The microchips chosen by the state can be cloned, destroyed, or > infected with computer viruses, and reprogrammed. Any terrorist or > thief can use this. > > * The database of information, created by the state agency and > available to USDA, will provide a target for hackers. > > NAIS infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due > process, privacy, and religious freedom. > Our postal address is > PMB #106-380 > 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW > Washington, District of Columbia 20016 > United States ~~~~Fire Island Farms~~~~ Breeding Quality Icelandic Trail Horses Certified Farrier Services 'Natural Balance' Shoeing and Trimming. Founder, Navicular options for your horse. 808-640-6080
