Page 89 - Summer2008

COMBATTING NAIS the studies that prove this assertion. Many activists have asked for those
To combat NAIS we must meet these people studies. The pro-NAIS forces have been unable to produce even one!

on the level where they operate. We can ght their When they say, “it will be more efcient” we must show the real costs
“I won’t get punished” thinking by challenging of NAIS, the inef ciencies and mislabeling of livestock that have already
their assertions of right. We do this when we ask occurred in Australia and the UK. We must continue to demand a complete
an ofcial, “Which law, rule, regulation or other cost bene t analysis. We must require them to account for the damage to

basis do you have that allows you to do this?” the environment that NAIS will bring. We can and will address each of
This tactic is especially important as they attempt their false claims for NAIS.
to convert existing programs into NAIS-compli- While we use each of these approaches to ght the specic NAIS

ant schemes. We can bring lawsuits and work to battles, we must not lose sight of the moral basis for our  ght. We operate
have their actions declared baseless under the on the basis of universal moral principles. Even when shown that the rest
law. of the world puts moral issues above pragmatic approaches, Big Ag can’t
When they declare that their program is sci- hear the message. They will continue to function on the plane they are
entically based (“it will improve animal health on, and we must answer them on each speci c claim. Our strength is in

or food safety”), we must continue to ask for knowing we’re right.

ON THE LEGISLATIVE FRONT
By Judith McGeary

While the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is taking the fight against NAIS into the litigation arena, the leg-
islative front continues to heat up as well. We won a victory in the Farm Bill when the conference committee took out
Section 10305. That section would have amended the Animal Health Protection Act of 2002 to require the USDA to
adopt regulations consistent with the Freedom of Information Act “regarding the disclosure of information submitted by
farmers and ranchers who participate in” NAIS. The deletion of Section 10305 means that there is still no mention of the
“NAIS” in the Animal Health Protection Act, which USDA claims gives it authority for NAIS, nor indeed is there mention
of NAIS in any other Congressional statute.
We have also had some partial victories at the state level. There are now four states with laws rejecting mandatory
NAIS! In addition to Arizona and Nebraska, discussed in the last issue of Wise Traditions, both Kentucky and Missouri
have now adopted laws preventing their agencies from adopting mandatory programs. The Kentucky bill is the first to
include a provision explicitly forbidding the agency from using coercive methods to enroll people in a so-called “volun-
tary” program. The Weston A. Price Foundation, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, and Kentucky Community Farm
Alliance, along with many individuals, worked hard to get this important bill passed. The Kentucky law and the Missouri
law both also include a provision for people who have already registered to opt out of the program. Although the USDA
has stated that people can opt out of NAIS, many state agencies have made the process difficult, which is why the pro-
visions in the state laws are important. If you were one of the people who registered in NAIS and now want out, go to
www.libertyark.net/opt_out.html for help on how to get out of the database. You can also find the text of all of these
bills on the website. None of the bills is perfect, but they are all important steps forward.
As this issue of Wise Traditions goes to press, the fight to get an anti-NAIS bill passed in Illinois is in the final stages.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) began the year by requiring children to register in NAIS in order to com-
pete in the state and county fairs and coerced thousands of people into registering with this tactic. Although IDOA has
reversed the policy for this year, the threat remains. Illinois HB 5776 would do two things: (1) forbid the IDOA from
requiring premises registration or NAIS electronic identification for participating in fairs, unless required by federal law
and (2) requires the IDOA to develop a procedure for people to withdraw from NAIS, so that the thousands of people
who have already signed up can get back out. Although the bill unanimously passed both the House and the Senate, it
is in danger of dying due to politics in the Legislature that have nothing to do with NAIS. Go to the State Updates page
at www.FarmAndRanchFreedom.org to find out what happened with this bill.
And, finally, citizens in Colorado continue to fight their state’s requirement that children register in NAIS for the fairs.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is finally going through the rulemaking process, to justify its existing policy of
requiring NAIS premises registration for participation in state fairs. A hearing is scheduled for May 30, and Colorado
citizens are working hard to keep the rule from being adopted.
Most of the developments discussed in this article are good news in the fight against NAIS. But it is far too early to
think that the war has been won! We need people to support the litigation and legislative efforts, and to continue to
educate their own communites. Go to the websites listed above for more information on what you can do to help.

SUMMER 2008 Wise Traditions 87