There's Strength in Numbers

[Islander]

From Downsize DC (downsizer-dispatch@downsizedc.org)

Passage of NAIS would have put many small-scale organic and family farms out of business.
- Islander

Washington, DC is relentless in its pursuit of central control. Some people think the opposition to DC should be centralized and coordinated as well. They'd like to fight fire with fire.
But the most effective way to Downsize DC is to inspire more and more people to just say no. It can work. It has worked.
Consider the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). It was envisioned as early as the 1990's, and plans were put in place in the years 2002-2005. And yet . . .
* the vast majority of farmers rejected "voluntarily" signing up for the system
* a humiliating "listening tour" last spring by the USDA on NAIS found opposition exceeding 90%
* the program is well behind schedule and has not yet been made mandatory
* NAIS funding has been slashed in half in the Senate version and eliminated in the House version of the Ag spending bill
* The state of Wyoming has even turned down $140,000 in NAIS grant money

NAIS has failed because of public opposition.
This has happened in spite of the fact that NAIS has rarely been discussed in the mainstream media. Instead a large, growing, but loose and unorganized coalition of individuals and groups, including DownsizeDC.org, have been relentless in spreading the word and expressing disapproval.
This decentralized coalition might not agree on many other issues.
We didn't have to. We each expressed our opposition in our own way. And it has worked, tremendously, thus far.
The NAIS victory is not final. It never is, because Washington, DC is relentless. But every year, we've stalled progress on NAIS. Each year, we won. And we're all better off because of this on-going victory. It has saved the majority of America's independent farmers from being burdened with (or bankrupted by) this costly and ineffective program.
What we've done to NAIS, we can do to any government program. We can defeat any bill. We can pass any bill.

[Reesacat]

Yay! I imagine they will try again, but at least it is a victory for now.

[Katee]

Just read this today, the bill isn't dead - it is just reformulated. The justification is that they spent so much money on trying to get it passed that they can't let it die!
Heads up, I knew it was too good to be true

Parker: Animal I.D. battle isn't over


Contrary to what you are being told, National Animal Identification System is not dead - just renamed, reworded and still very much alive.

That was the message brought to the Ozarks Property Rights meeting in Gainesville last Thursday by Republican congressional candidate Bob Parker, who said he hated to bring that news. "Being one of those who has worked hard over the past four or five years to stop NAIS, nothing would please me and my co-workers more than to be able to report that indeed NAIS has gone away. But sadly it is still here under a new name and coming at us with a reshuffled approach." Parker read excerpts from a fact sheet released Feb. 5 by USDA that outlined the new approach.

Parker said the animal identification program will now be called the Federal Animal Disease Traceability System and premise identification registration numbers are now "unique location identifiers." Parker pointed out that the USDA paper says that since so much taxpayer money has been spent on efforts to implement NAIS that as much of the failed program as possible must be salvaged and used in the new program such as use of the NAIS "840" ear tags. They say it would be fiscally irresponsible to disregard all elements of NAIS, he said.

USDA acknowledged that massive public opposition to their proposed NAIS program has caused them to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach.

Parker noted that while USDA says the framework for the new approach will emphasize state's participation, they are very clear and emphatic on one major point which seems non-negotiable in their view. They intend to enforce animal identification at the level of interstate commerce as they said they would do under the original NAIS plan. This would force Missouri producers into their program as the state has practically no in-state feed lots or major slaughter facilities causing nearly all of the state's livestock production to cross state lines, Parker said.

Addressing the issue of states like Missouri that have passed laws prohibiting forced participation in NAIS, the fact sheet points out that this program is no longer called NAIS and the new framework will spell out what states must do for their animals to be able to move in interstate commerce.

Parker expressed disdain for those elected officials who quickly put out news releases bragging how they were instrumental in stopping NAIS. "They evidently didn't read the rest of the story and were quick to make political hay. They do their constituents a real disservice by touting a hollow victory," he said.

OPRC president Russell Wood said the fact sheet Parker was referencing can be found at the group's web site www.ozarkprc.com, www.r-calfusa.com or www.USDA.gov.com under Questions and Answers: new animal traceability framework.

Houston Herald

I can't get the ozarkprc link from the article to work. Sorry.

[Islander]

I hate to use the well-worn "lipstick-on-a-pig" metaphor, but I don't think this pig will be any more acceptable no matter how much they tart it up.