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HARD QUESTIONS: ABOUT
THE NATIONAL ANIMAL ID SYSTEM (NAIS)
1. What is the NAIS?
A scheme hatched by the federal government and corporate
agribusiness to tag every animal in the US with an identity number
and to track every animal through processing. The excuse for it is
the discovery of two cases of mad cow disease (BSE or bovine
spongiform encephalopathy).
2. What does it
require?
It requires every farm in the country to register as a “premises.”
Each registered premises will then have to register & tag every
alpaca, bison, cow, emu, goat, horse, llama, sheep, swine, and all
poultry. (As far as we know right now, catfish and goldfish are
exempted.) It provides no exemptions. If you
have as much as one chicken, you must register.
3. What does it mean?
This is not about controlling disease, it’s about controlling
farmers. When social security was first introduced, the government
promised the people that the number would never be used for
“identification purposes.” But today you can’t get health care,
insurance, a bank account, an apartment, a job, or your tooth pulled
without giving a social security number.
4. Isn’t it voluntary?
Only for now. The present USDA “Draft Strategic Plan” calls for
making it mandatory by January 2008. “Mandatory” means that they
will fine, arrest, or jail you if you refuse to comply. For the
system to work, the government obviously must force every
farm and every farmer to register every animal, and no
one will be able to seek veterinary care, transport, sell, or
process animals without registry. In other words, the freedom to
farm that has belonged to mankind since Creation will be abolished.
5. Who and what is
behind the NAIS?
According to
the USDA National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Draft
Strategic Plan 2005 to 2009, page 3, paragraph 1, at
http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/members/memberdirectory.asp,
“In 2002, the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (NIAA)
initiated meetings that led to the development of the U.S. Animal
Identification Plan (USAIP).” “Driving force – The strongest
driving force for developing the NAIS is the risk of an outbreak of
a foreign animal disease (FAD). There is broad support for NAIS
among government, industry, and public stakeholders.”
(“Stakeholders are defined as those individuals and groups in the
public and private sectors who are interested in and/or affected by
the Department's activities and decisions.”
http://www.ci.doe.gov/cigapol.htm.)
6. Who is the
National Institute of Animal Agriculture?
NIAA website
states, “The mission of the National Institute for Animal
Agriculture is to provide a forum for building consensus and
advancing solutions for animal agriculture and to provide continuing
education and communication linkages to animal agriculture
professionals.”
http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/facts/factsheet.asp.
In fact, the NIAA is a national agribusiness organization
whose purpose appears to be lobbying government for laws and
policies that favour agribusiness. A brief glance at the board of
directors seems to confirm that, since all are drawn from
agribusiness companies, industry groups, or schools of agriculture
(which notoriously favour
corporate agribusiness over small farmers and sustainable
agriculture).
http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/leadersstaff/BOD.asp.
A list of members leads to the same conclusion.
http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/members/memberdirectory.asp.
7. Who will bear the
burden of NAIS?
Small farmers, and
especially those engaged in the New Agriculture (“permaculture” or
“sustainable agriculture”). First, they will be forced to pay
for NAIS, at least in part. Second, they will be forced to work
for NAIS. In the words of the NAIS Draft Strategic Plan,
page 14, paragraph 3, “All groups will need to provide labour.” NAIS
will add yet another cost disadvantage to small farmers and the New
Agriculture, and will make local agriculture less competitive with
agribusiness.
http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/members/memberdirectory.asp.
8.
Won’t
NAIS help prevent and control disease?
No, NAIS isn’t about
preventing or controlling disease, it’s about marketing.
When a case of mad cow disease (or any other disease) surfaces, NAIS
aims to protect meat producers’ markets by tracking animals through
processing to “prove” that only a few animals are affected and so
prevent a public revulsion against their meat. The most effective
way to control disease is to produce meat and milk for local
instead of national markets and “closed herd” techniques. Ω
© 2005, Reprinted from
the October, 2005
The Moneychanger
P.O. Box 178
Westpoint, Tenn. 38486
(888) 218-9226
www.the-moneychanger.com
Permission to reprint
granted
provided no changes
or additions made
and full source credit given.
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