SwBratcher's Posts

Individual rights to produce food for yourself and your community is threatened twice over: first by the once defeated NAIS reborn as Animal Desease Traceability and second by the state bill SB795.

There is a new push happening for the National Animal ID System (NAIS) under the new name Animal Disease Traceability. Missouri has relied on our own internal means of managing animal disease issues for the last 100 years and has no need for Federal watch dogging and regulation by unelected committee. In addition, as Missouri moves back toward a local and community food supply chain we'll be in even better shape to rely on our successful 100 year disease management record.

Why should you care or speak out?

Whether or not this bill was written to eventually away our rights, this legislation sets up a committee of unelected members imparting regulation on our food supply chain, opening us up to eventual abuse of power by corruption and/or big industry influence. This is unacceptable as it threatens our ability to feed ourselves, the key part of retaining independence.

From Paul Hamby:

Dear Scott,

 

NAIS, national animal ID is not really dead,  the federal United States Dept of Agriculture (USDA) just renamed it.

They  now call it animal disease traceability.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/

USDA (APHIS division)  will be holding 3 public meetings on NAIS

...to discuss animal disease traceability more fully and to share the information with industry representatives.

USDA hopes to obtain feedback on the approaches regarding the regulatory framework.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Holiday Inn Kansas City - SE Waterpark
9103 East 39th Street
Kansas City, MO 64133 

Thursday, May 13, 2010
USDA Center at Riverside
4700 River Road
Riverdale, MD 20737

Monday, May 17, 2010
Crowne Plaza - Denver International Airport
15500 East 40th Avenue
Denver, CO 80239

USDA hopes to obtain feedback.  If you can go to one of these meetings,  please do.   Here is some suggested feedback:

• Tell the USDA that we still do not want NAIS - no matter what they call it.
• Tell the USDA that the US government is broke.  bank account is empty.  Stop wasting taxpayer dollars on this program.
• Tell the USDA that state dept of ag have successfully fought off every disease outbreak in the past 100 years.  We do not need federal bureaucrats looking over our shoulders.
• Ask the USDA why they have not yet had a public meeting in Wisconsin - where NAIS is mandatory and farmers have been arrested and fined for refusing to participate.
  (They will say it is a state run program but it is paid for with federal dollars from USDA)

There is another bill, SB 795, being pushed into play at the state level that threatens our ability to grow food for ourselves in the form of animals, eggs and other agricultural produce, then share any surplus with our community as gift or for sale. This right is THE most important right to preserve, as all others can be retained by firmly planted feet if we are independent with our personal and local food supply systems.

Below is an email that I received from Paul Hamby in which he shares an email from Doreen Hannes:

Dear Scott,

The last week of the Missouri legislature is upon us.  There are several bills we are watching that affect Liberty,  Freedom and your ability to provide for your family. 

Over the next week, you may get 1 or 2 messages per day regarding specific legislation. These will be action alerts asking you to contact state reps or senators regarding legislation.  They listen to you. Over the past 4 years, your input has made all the difference in passing or killing bills in Jeff City.  Below is a call to action message from Doreen Hannes.  Doreen led the fight against NAIS (National Animal ID) and is one of Missouri's most informed activists on agriculture law, agriculture rights and freedoms. Doreen is an expert on not just  Missouri law but also federal and international ag law and treaties.

Paul Hamby

The letter from Doreen:

Hello All,

We have only a few days left in session at Jefferson City. We have a very, very negative bill looking to go through the Senate and we have got to get active against it or be faced with a myriad of committees acting like the "Milk Board" and telling us all what we have to do, how we must do it, and when in order to remain engaged in agriculture.

SB 795 is the Omnibus Ag Act, and it is compilation of a lot of good intentions gone awry. The good bits cannot be separated from the bad bits at this point.

This bill is a serious affront to anyone who loves freedom...To be ruled by non-elected unaccountable committees is actually a Soviet system of governance, and SB 795 sets that up in agriculture quite succinctly. While there are tremendous concerns with the food supply and its safety for consumption, as well as the attempts by the HSUS to control how animals are raised (with [a real potential] to STOP all animal ownership [as an eventual outcome]), the oversight to be established by LAW in Missouri via SB 795 is completely unacceptable. Warm fuzzy language aside, the establishment of committees dominated  by corporate ag will hasten the destruction to independent agriculture that the policies employed by the USDA for decades have caused.

The bill does the following, with all of the agency authority to promulgate rules and regulations behind it:

Sets up a committee of major agribusiness proponents to establish 'acceptable' animal care standards. This is Ohio's Issue 2, just in Missouri instead.

Sets up a committee to oversee "Urban Agriculture".

Sets up a misdirected attempt to further local food producers access to market by establishing a "sustainable" "farm to institution" initiative ---WITH the authority to promulgate  rules and regulations regarding the initiative. There is concern that the committee establishing the guidelines for 'animal care' will have oversight of this program as well and the group pushing for this initiative would like the bill killed as it has been 'adulterated'.

Establishes in law the 'right to own animals' so long as they are raised in accordance with 'standards' set by the University of Missouri. This section also seriously threatens local control and private property rights.

Establishes licensing requirements for egg selling.

Establishes very complex licensing requirements for 'blasters' with a highly specific exemption list that does -NOT- clearly preclude reloaders as exempt from licensing requirements.

It also establishes horse slaughter and provides highly specific requirements for engagement in that activity. One of the requirements is that should someone purchase more than 5 pounds of horse meat, the seller must   take their name address and contact information and hold that for disclosure to an interested authority.

It also does a few other things, but overall, this bill is very unfriendly to freedom and it fails to meaningfully address the real issues that cause agriculture to be a difficult field to negotiate a viable living through.

If you love freedom or good food, or farming, you need to oppose this bill and oppose it quickly. The last week of session begins on Monday the 10th and the Citizens of Missouri would be better off with this bill being killed than if it passes.
 
Please call the Senate and tell them to vote NO on SB795 and stop all these committees and task forces from being established in statute and ruling how independent agriculture can conduct itself. Let's fight HSUS with facts instead of letting further consolidation of agriculture markets occur because we are afraid of this bunch of Horribly Sadistic Urban Sociopaths.

Find the Senate roster at http://www.senate.mo.gov/10info/senalpha.htm and let's fill up the answering machines and continue to call all week until they vote SB795 down!

In Liberty,

Doreen

Doreen's has a radio show, Truth Farmer, every Saturday from 10-11am Central on www.libertynewsradio.com. Also check out www.newswithviews.com for my articles and many other excellent researchers on topics affecting your freedom...also her blog, www.truth-farmer.blogspot.com

ACTION ITEMS... How you can help:

1) If you are close to any of the three animal disease traceability meetings listed above by Hamby go there and share with them the messages Hamby went on to bullet point above or below.

2) Voice your disapproval of the Federal USDA's Animal Disease Traceability program to your Senators. Use any of the following:

• We still do not want NAIS - no matter what they call it. Stop wasting taxpayer dollars on this program.
• We do not need federal bureaucrats looking over our state program shoulders.
• Missouri blocked this program once, but this program is obstructing freedom in Wisconsin and is therefore a failure of government.

Find your senator contact forms here: http://www.chooseliberty.org/dodd_contact.aspx

3) Find the Senate roster at http://www.senate.mo.gov/10info/senalpha.htm leave feedback on the telephone answering machines, continue to call all week until they vote SB795 down.