>NAIS in the Farm Bill >Take Action Now! > >URGENT 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 >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 Senators Harkin and Chambliss, and your Senators. Ask to speak >to the staffer who handles agricultural issues. If you are >transferred to voice mail, leave a message with your name, phone >number, and the reason you are calling. Be sure to mention that you >are a constituent. > >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. > >People to Contact: >Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of Agriculture Committee, (D-IA) 202-224-3254 >Senator Saxby Chambliss, Ranking Member of the Agriculture >Committee, (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. Be sure to call both of the Senators for your state. > >More information on Section 10305 and NAIS is at the end of this alert. > Additional Contacts > >If you have extra time after calling your Senators, Senator Harkin, >and Senator Chambliss, call the other Committee 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 and Talking Points on NAIS > >For more information on NAIS, go to >www.farmandranchfreedom.org. The Top 10 Myths is good reading for >newcomers to this issue. > >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. > More Information on the Farm Bill Provision > >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. >We have three opportunities to get this NAIS provision taken out of >the Farm Bill: (1) in Wednesday's committee hearing; (2) on the >floor of the Senate; and (3) in conference committee. So please be >prepared to keep up the calls and letters. We're in this fight for >the long haul! > > >Judith McGeary >Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance >www.farmandranchfreedom.org >866-687-6452
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