My letter to my Representatives regarding NAIS...critiques, please?

[Cat]

I've pieced together a letter that I am going to send to my representatives based on several letters found on the Stop Animal ID website, as well as my own personal thoughts and because I have an awful time proof-reading something until I've moved away from the subject and come back at a later time, I thought I'd ask for help proof-reading this letter for content, repetitious statements, poor spelling/grammar, etc. Anyone want to help me out?

Here it is:

Dear Madam & Sirs:

As a taxpayer in the State of Kansas I am writing to say that I strongly oppose the implementation of the National Animal Identification System. Agribusiness, specifically The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), lobbied the USDA (after 9/11 and subsequent BSE scares) to create the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) supposedly to protect U.S. citizens and their animals from diseases. The NIAA is composed primarily to two groups – (1) large corporate producers and (2) the makers and producers of animal ID equipment. In April 2002 a task force composed of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and over 30 livestock organizations provided leadership in creating the animal identification system. Small-scale farmers involved in animal husbandry, homesteaders, and animal hobbyists were not represented. Language quoted from the Draft Strategic Plan proves this, “APHIS then established the National Identification Development Team (NIDT), a joint, State, Federal, and industry group to further advance this effort. Throughout 2003, the NIDT, consisting of approximately 100 animal and livestock industry professionals representing more than 70 associations, organizations, and government agencies, expanded upon the work plan to produce the initial draft of the U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP).” (Plan, p. 4) While associations, organizations, etc. may be backing the NAIS, they did not inform their members of this proposed legislation. Chances are the members still have no idea that their freedoms are being given away.

I am writing in opposition of the National Animal Identification System because:

(1) Should the NAIS become law, we will be forced to pay fees to register our farms and animals. “Even with public funding, there will be costs to producers.” (Plan, p. 11)
(2) We will be forced to report to the national animal records repository within a short-term specified timeframe the birth, death, loss of identification device, sale, or movement of any animal in our possession.
(3) We will be required to report to the national animal records repository when an animal we own attends a livestock show, participates in a trail ride, is transported to another farm for stud service, or takes part in a community parade, etc.
(4) Our personal information collected through NAIS could be disclosed – “…the USDA cannot assure the confidentiality of all the information at the present time.” (Plan, p. 15) Financial institutions were not able to keep this information confidential, so it is no surprise that USDA cannot guarantee confidentiality.
(5) The NAIS will violate the religious beliefs of minority faith communities by requiring them to become part of this computerized, technology-dependent system or abandon the livestock ownership necessary for their way of life. (Many adherents raise their own food animals and use animals in farming and for transportation. Some, by scriptural teaching, would refuse to take the “mark” of such a numbering system.)
(6) Our livestock would become part of the “national herd.” (Plan, p. 8)

Not only would small farm operators be negatively affected by the NAIS, but this legislation will do serious damage to feed store owners, farm supply houses, hatcheries that sell and ship day-old poultry, and other businesses frequented by farmers.

The most common types of meat contamination in the U.S. are the occurrences of pathogens such as listeria or E.coli in processed meat. When meat becomes contaminated at a large packing plant, millions of consumers in all 50 states are exposed to the dangerous product. Government should enact a law to closer scrutinize the large commercial food sources such as the giant broiler operations, the feed yards that produce beef, the large commercial turkey operations, and laying houses, etc. Because of over-crowded conditions and the general biological by-products of animal production, these are the places most likely to contribute in the spreading of infectious disease, not on the premises of small producers. If our government is indeed concerned with BSE, why does it not test every slaughtered animal?

Because small-scale farmers were not informed of this proposed legislation, it appears that they are willing to enter a ‘voluntary’ program as a justification of making the NAIS mandatory. We are not. Please protect the rights of those who have had no representation and, ironically, the very ones that have the most to lose – our very way of life.

Implementing the NAIS is a move that I would associate with a Communist type of government, one where the citizens have no rights but are commanded by the Government in every facet of life. This program would create millions of criminals out of honest people in the small family farms and those who refuse to surrender their rights without a fight.

The projected estimate for implementation of this plan is 33 billion dollars. Let that sink in for a second. $33,000,000,000.00 to simply implement the plan. That doesn’t include the costs to maintain it once it’s begun. That is $115.78 for every single man, woman and child in the US. It does not include the costs for farmers to microchip their animals either, so those who raise the food get to pay even more for this plan.

This plan cannot and will not do anything to make our food supply safer at all. It’s purportedly necessary to protect us from potential bio-terrorism. How? It’s impossible to protect anything through registration. The only thing that can be done is to trace it’s movements from point A to B to C, on and on ad infintum, and destroy the smallholder’s ability to provide for themselves. This plan will create a veritable monopoly by corporate agriculture and thereby seriously endanger our national economy and our food supply by creating a society that is 100 percent dependent on the government for their food needs. We saw what happens when people rely solely on the government when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. How many thousands of individuals were incapable of making their way to safer ground? How many thousands REFUSED to make their way to safer ground because they felt 'entitled' to be rescued by the government? I live in southwest Kansas in a small, rural community and yet I heard of the possible devastation that hurricane Katrina was likely to produce long before the storm reached shore, why is it then that those in the path of the storm did not take the necessary steps to ensure their safety? The answer to that question is because already we have millions of American citizens completely dependent on the government for their every need. Those of us who value self-sufficiency and personal responsibility reject this mindset wholeheartedly!


If the real purpose of NAIS is to track the food supply for instances like mad cow disease then:

1) NAIS is not necessary for horses, donkeys, guardian animals or other non-food animals - these animals are not going to enter the human food chain in our country and should NOT be tracked by the government. There are already safeguards in place for preventing the spread of disease in horses. Regulations that would require implantation of a chip to track movement and registration of premises keyed to Global Positioning System coordinates is an invasion of privacy and makes no sense for a hobby farmer who raises alpacas or a family with a pet pony.

2) NAIS is not necessary for sales direct to the consumer from the farm. In these cases there is already far better tracking of the food chain. I buy meat and eggs from small family farms in my area. I am more confident in the safety of food raised on small farms, and I fear I will lose the freedom to select my food in this way if NAIS is forced on individuals who may have to give up farming if they cannot afford expensive RFID readers or cannot keep up with the excessive reporting required by NAIS.

3) NAIS should not be at all involved with people who are raising livestock for their own family consumption. They know exactly where the food came from - they raised it. There is no need to have any government involved in our own kitchens and food that we raise in our own backyards. I see raising food for our families as a basic human right that should not be interfered with by government.

4) NAIS is a violation of the religious freedoms of Americans whose beliefs make it impossible for them to comply. For example, the Amish choose to farm and live without technology according to their beliefs and this system is a threat to their way of life.

NAIS is being implemented too broadly. To include the above groups suggests the government has ulterior motives and is trying to invade people's privacy. There should be exemptions for the above groups.

So, is there anything that sounds utterly ridiculous? Anything worth adding or needing removed? I would very much appreciate ideas!!

[jnap31]

This is so awesome do you write for a living?I have done proofreading before and could find no overt mistakes such as spelling content e.c.t.Though I admit I read quickily thru the part around Katrina.I am goin to copy this and send it to everyone I know.I would suggest adding the links to the various sites that explain nais What the commitees are recomending e.c.t. so people can research it further and not just take your word.

[Creekdreamer]

Excellant, excellant, Send as is. Annie

[Ken Scharabok]

You might consider adding something to the following under your last set of subparagraphs:

If the primary purpose of this legislation is to be able to track the history of a cow with confirmed Mad Cow Disease, they it is predominately a 'what if' reaction since there has not been a single case of it originating in the U.S. and confirmed cases in other countries has virtually stopped. Mad Cow Disease may well have burned itself out and is no longer a threat anywhere in the world, much less in the U.S.

[cowboy joe]

Your comments are well thought out and are quite eloquent. For what it's worth, only my personal opinion, the closing statement is somewhat abrupt and needs to hammer home the point...perhaps a closing statement to the effect of:

"In closing, the suggested implementation of the NAIS is far too broad in nature and requires exemption of the afore mentioned groups if protection of the food chain is indeed the intent. Inclusion of self sufficient groups and pets strongly suggests ulterior motives by the government such as invasion of privacy. The plan, as it stands, will undoubtedly result in financial hardship for those already at risk, serving only to enhance the bottom line of special interest groups . Further, the overwhelming scope of such an endeavor begs failure as tracking the movement of animals, such as horses, will require considerable resources while providing no subsequent value to protection of the food chain. I ask that you familiarize yourself with the details of the National Animal Identification System and consider the consequences to the personal freedoms and religious beliefs which our forefathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters have fought for, and continue to fight, so bravely to defend. Thank you for your time and consideration."

BTW, I would consider it a priviledge to forward such a well constructed letter to the representives of my area. Job well done. Thank you for taking the time and effort to put the words on paper.

[Wanda]

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

You might consider adding something to the following under your last set of subparagraphs:

If the primary purpose of this legislation is to be able to track the history of a cow with confirmed Mad Cow Disease, they it is predominately a 'what if' reaction since there has not been a single case of it originating in the U.S. and confirmed cases in other countries has virtually stopped. Mad Cow Disease may well have burned itself out and is no longer a threat anywhere in the world, much less in the U.S.

Ken
The second bse case in the ''texas cow'' was definatley home grown. If you check the bse history of Japan you will see they are still finding cases because they have a rigorus testing program.
Mr Wanda
Mike

[blazingguns]

Fantastic Letter, Send It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[boxwoods]

Just a thought! You might use it as a petition signed by many.

[affenpinschermom]

It's great. How offended would you be if some of us copied and pasted it to send to our own state representatives? You've eloquently stated what my husband and I would have written to ours.

[Ken Scharabok]

"Ken
The second bse case in the ''texas cow'' was definatley home grown. If you check the bse history of Japan you will see they are still finding cases because they have a rigorus testing program.
Mr Wanda
Mike"

Unless I missed something, the TX cow turned out to be negative upon more precise testing in England.

I didn't say confirmed cases of MCD has stopped, just that they had become a very, very small number.
----------------

I was incorrect. I found the following on Google:

Brain-Wasting Disease

US Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced last Friday that the cow had tested positive for mad cow disease at a lab in Weybridge, England. Mad cow disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a brain-wasting disease that is linked to a human disease known to have killed about 150 people, mostly in England.

[sisterpine]

Could I possibly copy and send this to my legislatures (sp) as well?

[Cat]

Hi everyone, thanks for the comments!!

Actually, quite a lot of the letter was pieced together from letters written by other individuals that are posted on the Stop Animal ID website, that was started by a few of HT's members. I threw in my own 'flair' or things that I thought were worth mentioning, and changed some of what was written in the letters.

I actually went back and changed the ending, I don't believe there should be exemptions, I don't think the program should be implemented at all, unless only at a commercial level, so I took that out. This is what I added instead:
NAIS if implemented, should be required only for those large commercial operations where the health, welfare, and safety of livestock is disregarded in favor of profit. Commercial operations are responsible for the bulk of the meat and dairy product consumed throughout the United States, and they are responsible for the vast majority of disease and illness and contamination found in these products. They can absorb the cost of such an endeavor, the small family farmer cannot and should not!

I invite anyone to use this letter, add to or remove whatever you like, because unless something is done by the small family farmer/homesteader/backyard hobbyist we're going to be railroaded into accepting this program and having it shoved down our throat.

Cowboy Joe, I do indeed like the mention of financial hardship, most of that paragraph, actually, and will go back and try to add something to that effect in the letter, if you don't mind.

Ken, still, even a single case of Mad Cow that has been 'homegrown' is NOT in any way a number that should cause a panic or hysteria. Really, I'm going to have to see if I can't find some figures on how many cattle are slaughtered EVERY day in this country? How many are alive in cow and calf operations, in dairies, on homesteads, etc and one cow that has tested positive is enough to warrant a program that will cost an estimated 33 billion dollars? Give me a break!

The part about Katrina might not fit well with the rest of the letter, but that is one glaring case of complete personal helplessness, which is really what I believe the NAIS is about. That is something that I wanted to reference that I feel needs to be brought to these people's attention, that we will not allow for ourselves to become victims. I must admit, I come from a conspiracy-theorist family, so maybe I am a bit too sensitive to these things, but what better way to control citizens than by asking them to give up their rights voluntarily? Then, in 20 years, or heck, even 10 years, when we're all living in the city in high-rise apartments eating our allotted groceries which are nothing but GM foods and only the criminals have guns, we'll all reminisce about how in our day a man could feed himself and his family, not have to walk to the corner with our food voucher in hand and be given only what a has been deemed appropriate for a family of 4. There will be mass slaughter of wildlife that you never hear about, because of course we can't have wildlife eating up all of our GM cereal grains, and since no one is allowed to hunt they'll have to eradicate those pesky deer and turkeys and pheasant. [Oh, and they carry parasites...we might not have to spend millions of dollars on Cydectin if all those parasites weren't transmitted to our cattle by deer walking in our cattle pastures shedding their filth!] PETA will be disbanded because their job has been done, so they will have to go and find another line of work...hmmm...perhaps protest and lobby that there are too many children in this world and we need to implement a restricted childbirth policy where women are only allowed to give birth to 2 children and any subsequent pregnancies will be terminated.

Okay, some of that, while not too crazy, is a bit extreme, I realize. Consider that my early morning rant. lol Now I'll have to really think about the content for my afternoon and evening rants.

At any rate, go ahead and use the letter or parts of the letter if you're interested, I surely don't mind and in fact encourage everyone to do so!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, I appreciate them!

Oh, and I'll repost the letter once I've made changes, too.

[Ken Scharabok]

On this, two Vietnam War sayings come to mind: overkill and using a sledge hammer to kill a gnat.

[3girls]

This is an outstanding article and should be submitted to every magazine you can think of: Acres, USA, Stockman Grass Farmer, Org Gardening, Slow Food Movement, Sustainable Ag groups, etc. Use the title you have used here.

I think your letter stands a better chance of not only being read, but also passed on to the legislator if you will make a short (2-3 paragraphs) cover letter with reference to the larger.

If your Congressperson is in town, stop by to visit. They have to be elected in 2006. As such, we stand a very good chance of being heard. TO THE BARRICADES, folks!!

Thank you for the time you have taken to research this and then to write it in such a well thought-out way.

We can win this battle.

[Cat]

Okay, I added this bit from what Cowboy Joe suggested:

Inclusion of small farmers, homesteaders, and backyard hobbyists requiring identification of animals that will never make it into in the food chain, or even requiring pets be identified strongly suggests ulterior motives by the government such as invasion of privacy. The plan, as it stands, will undoubtedly result in financial hardship for those already at risk, serving only to enhance the bottom line of special interest groups. Further, the overwhelming scope of such an endeavor begs failure as tracking the movement of animals, such as horses, will require considerable resources while providing no subsequent value to protection of the food chain. The government is incapable of securing our borders against illegal immigration, it is incapable of monitoring foreign students who enter the U.S. with student visas who then disappear without a trace, why then should we believe that our government would be capable of tracking every single animal born for the entirety of it's life? Even those members of Government who promote this plan realize this is impossible, which is why the sole responsibility has been placed squarely on the shoulders of those individuals who do not accept this program! As such, any failures will be a result of owner error and will result in fines being levied on these individuals. The government is implementing a program that they know cannot work while taking no responsibility for it's failures!

Does that make sense?

[Cat]

Sandi,

I agree that an introduction would be nice. I know no one likes to be way-layed. Perhaps a single heading "Rant to follow". lol

[Cat]

Ugh...why not make 15 posts in a row, Cat? lol

Okay, for those interested, here's a good read:
http://www.bantamclub.com/hobby/Why%...d%20Oppose.pdf
http://poultrypress.com/hobby/

[Jenn]

I think if you could make it much shorter it'd more likely be read totally (imagine the staffers who have 1000s of such letters a day- they more count numbers for/against an issue than get advice on drafting legislation from their constituents) but maybe do it as two separate letters- a letter does not need a cover letter-!- but maybe this letter and then in a week a 3 paragrapher hammering points after asking if he'd had time to read your letter of last week. If you can see where it repeats the same things try to cut back to once but I think all the stuff needs to be spelled out. Of course I liked it but you're preaching to the choir here.

In the first version two errors grammatically that I noted:

COOL! as you edited it the bit I'd copied was altered in this reply! So one error-

It’s purportedly necessary to protect us from potential bio-terrorism. How? It’s impossible to protect anything through registration. The only thing that can be done is to trace it’s movements from point A to B to C, on and on ad infintum, and destroy the smallholder’s ability to provide for themselves. first two it's are correct- it is or it has contractions. 3rd one- possessive of it- has no apostrophe- its only.

[seedspreader]

Catherine, do you have your most recent edition of this letter complete that you could send me? I would like to post it over at www.themodernhomestead.com if that would be ok with you?

I tried sending a PM, but seems you are all full up!

[Cat]

Jenn,

Thanks for that! 'its' is one of those I've never mastered.

I agree, it's not very likely that anyone is going to want to read the letter in its entirety, and I question whether they would, however, I also feel that it's important to present all of the information that I feel needs mentioned. This is the only way that I can feel satisfied with my actions, if I've done all I can do to promote my message. Otherwise, there will always be those questions of, 'What if?' So, while it may or may not be read, I've done what I think I should.

ZYG,

The pack-rat in me has been outed! *gasp* I just went and cleaned out my inbox, lol. Yes, I will send you a copy of the full letter, and no I don't mind.