Farm Bill 2007 Opens Door to Mandatory NAIS
Take Action Now!
FARM BILL PAVES WAY FOR MANDATORY NAIS
CALL YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Yesterday, July 19, the U.S. House Ag. Committee passed the Farm Bill with
a provision that paves the way for mandatory NAIS. Inserted by Collin Peterson
(U.S. House Ag. Committee Chairman (D-MN)) the provision allows linking mandatory
NAIS to Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) by repealing a law that now prevents
that.
THE FARM BILL WILL BE VOTED ON BY THE FULL U.S. HOUSE BY THE END OF JULY.
YOU MUST GET THROUGH TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IMMEDIATELY.
In short: COOL becomes law in 2008 and requires source verification of livestock
stamped “U.S.” Source verification can be provided privately by
industry, but will be used as leverage for mandatory NAIS if Peterson’s
provision passes the full House.
The current law reads: “The Secretary [of Agriculture] shall not use
a mandatory identification system to verify the country of origin of a covered
commodity.” Peterson's provision would repeal this law.
Peterson’s provision states: REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY IDENTIFICATION
SYSTEM FOR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING. (Title XI, Subtitle B, Section 11101
of the Farm Bill).
NOTE: Representatives are being told by Peterson's office that this provision is just in there "in case of emergencies"...if NAIS becomes mandatory then without this they wouldn't be able to use the NAIS database. This makes no sense and is a smokescreen. It also means Peterson is planning on mandatory NAIS. If we do not stop this NOW, they will probably be able to force mandatory NAIS.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
ACTION: Contact your representative and tell him or her you OPPOSE Title XI,
Subtitle B, Section 11101 of the Farm Bill that allows linking COOL to mandatory
NAIS. Call and SEND FAXES. (find your Rep. at:
http://www.house.gov/ ) (Note: For email, go to the individual rep.websites
at http://house.gov -- most use email forms). Tell your Representative to
REMOVE this provision from the Farm Bill.
If you can find a way to meet personally with your Representative, or his agricultural aide, PLEASE DO SO AT ONCE!
SAMPLE PHONE and FAX MESSAGES:
Ask to speak to your Representative's Agriculture Aide.WHAT TO SAY: My name
is ______ and I am calling about the Farm Bill. I would like to speak to the
agricultural aide for Representative______; who is that please? Please ask
Representative ______ to remove Title XI, Subtitle B, Section 11101 of the
Farm Bill. This section allows a mandatory National Animal Identification
System (NAIS) to be linked to Country of Origin Labeling. I oppose NAIS. This
section would allow COOL to be used as leverage for forcing mandatory NAIS.
NAIS has nothing to do with Country of Origin Labeling and the law currently
prohibits using mandatory NAIS for COOL. This section would change the law
and allow COOL to be used as an excuse for forcing NAIS on farmers who do
not want it, do not need it, and will be destroyed by it. NAIS is not an "emergency"
system, it would be a permanent, unnecessary burden on America's small farmers.
The overwhelming majority of America's small farmers are not affected by COOL,
yet they are the ones who would be destroyed by a mandatory NAIS. Americans
want local food and NAIS will destroy local agriculture. Please tell Representative
____ to remove this provision from the Farm Bill.
Thank you.
FAX:
Dear Congressman/Congresswoman_______,
I am writing about the Farm Bill to urgently request that you remove Title
XI, Subtitle B, Section 11101. This section allows a mandatory National Animal
Identification System (NAIS) to be linked to Country of Origin Labeling.
I oppose NAIS. NAIS has nothing to do with Country of Origin Labeling and
the law currently prohibits using mandatory NAIS for COOL. This section would
change the law and allow COOL to be used as an excuse for forcing NAIS on
farmers who do not want it, do not need it, and will be destroyed by it. NAIS
is not an "emergency" system, it would be a permanent, unnecessary
burden on America's small farmers. The overwhelming majority of America's
small farmers are not affected by COOL, yet they are the ones who would be
destroyed by a mandatory NAIS. Americans want local food and NAIS will destroy
local agriculture. Please remove Title XI, Subtitle B, Section 11101 from
the Farm Bill.
Thank you.
Name
Address
Phone number
(You must include this information so they can verify you are from their district.
If you don’t include it they will toss your fax).
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