Friday, March 21, 2008

Just Say No to NAIS


But what is NAIS?
General — walterj 3:13 pm
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!

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. Later Texas backs down due to strong grass roots opposition.

April 2006 - USDA releases updated document saying NAIS will be voluntary for now if we are good and all signup. See Mafia Style “Voluntary” article. Required compliance level looks to be 100% - see page 3 of April 2006 USDA document.

June 2006 - USDA releases “Guide to Small Non-Commercial Producers” which appears to be an attempt to reassure homesteaders. I feel ill.

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! Cancelled by the USDA - See this article.

July 1, 2006 - Premises registration will be compulsory in Texas Postponed by Texas due to strong opposition by small farmers and homesteaders at TAHC meetings.

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.

2 comments:

  1. Amy, this is absurd! I have never heard of this before. It's alot to take in. Thanks for opening my eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the nicely done timeline of events. I was a little confused by this before, but now I understand it far better. How stupid can we (USA) be? I'm sure those writing these laws have no clue about raising animals for fun or profit.

    ReplyDelete

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