Farm and Food Session 4

The session after lunch was on NAIS (National Animal Identification System) led by Judith Mcgeary, President of Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. I will say that she really knows her stuff (as most of the speakers have). It’s a little overwhelming if you don’t know anything about this issue. Food and Water Watch has a fact sheet that she recommended to get you caught up on the issue. They also have an article called, “Animal Identification Does Not Equal Food Safety”.

This issue riled up people in the audience more than any other issue. It also seems that a lot of companies stand to make a lot of money off of this system being implemented: government bureaucracies, software companies, etc. It also is a way, under the guise of food safety and animal health, to put small farmers out of business.

Honestly, I zoned out some and didn’t take the best notes. Apparently Texas is one of the worst states covertly supporting NAIS while trying to squelch the voices of dissent. Several times people in the audience and on stage have talked about communicating with our representatives and government officials. It seems like this should be the norm. It helps to start at the local level where you can see some immediate results, but contacting representatives in DC particularly as a constituent and personally on the phone or through a letter (not email and not a form letter) is powerful and is heard by the officials.