Action Alert
May 24, 2007
FARM BILL TO IMPLEMENT NAIS: Contact Congress
Ask the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry to Repeal Section 121 of the Draft Farm Bill!
FARM BILL PROVISION ON NAIS: A preliminary discussion draft
of certain sections of the Farm Bill was released on Wednesday
afternoon. Section 121 of the draft would allow the USDA to use a
mandatory animal identification system in order to implement Country
of Origin Labeling ("COOL"). Current law prohibits mandatory NAIS for
COOL, and this would be a move in the WRONG direction! You can read
the draft provisions of the Farm Bill at:
agriculture.house.gov/inside/2007FarmBill.html.
And
read Randy Givens' article about the dangers of linking COOL with NAIS
at: www.libertyark.net/articles/givens-040907.html
The Subcommittee met today, Thursday 5/24/07, to discuss the draft. This is our first opportunity - but not the last! - to ask members of the subcommittee to get rid of Section 121 of the draft. If you can call today, that's great. And whether or not you call today, please write, email, fax, or call the Committee over the next several weeks. We'll send out reminders and updates - the fight over the Farm Bill is just beginning!
TAKE ACTION: Call, fax, or write all of the following members:
- The Honorable Leonard Boswell
Chairman House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock Dairy and Poultry
United States House of Representatives Washington D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2171
Fax: 202-225-8510
Email: agriculture@mail.house.gov - The Honorable Robin Hayes
Ranking Minority Member
House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock Dairy and Poultry
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-0029
Fax: 202-225-0917
Email: AgRepublicanPress@mail.house.gov - Any member of the Subcommittee who comes from your state. All of the members are listed below, and it's very important that the members hear from the people within their state.
Message: Please strip Section 121 from the draft Farm Bill. The law barring the USDA from using mandatory animal identification to implement COOL should not be changed, and NAIS should not be put into the Farm Bill.
A sample letter and talking points are at the end of this alert. As
always, if you have any questions, you can contact us at:
noah@libertyark.net.
MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY
Name (State), Phone number, Fax number:
Leonard L. Boswell, Chair (IA), (p) 202-225-3806, (f) 202-225-5608
Kirsten Gillibrand, Vice-chair (NY), (p) 202-225-5614, (f)202-225-1168
Steve Kagen (WI), (p) 202-225-5665, (f) 202-225-5729
Tim Holden (PA), (p) 202-225-5546, (f) 202-226-0996
Joe Baca (CA), (p) 202-225-6161, (f) 202-225-8671
Dennis Cardoza (CA), (p) 202-225-6131,(f) 202-225-0819
Nicholas Lampson (TX), (p) 202-225-5951, (f)202-225-5241
Joe Donnelly (IN), (p) 202-225-3915, (f) 202-225-6798
Jim Costa (CA), (p) 202-225-3341, (f) 202-225-9308
Timothy Mahoney (FL), (p) 202-225-5792, (f) 202-225-3132
Robin Hayes, Ranking Minority Member (NC), (p) 202-225-3715, (f)202-225-4036
Michael Rogers (AL), (p) 202-225-3261, (f) 202-226-8485
Steve King (IA), (p) 202-225-4426, (f) 202-225-3193
Virginia Foxx (NC), (p)202-225-2071, (f) 202-225-2995
Mike Conaway (TX), (p) 202-225-3605, (f) 202-225-1783
Jean Schmidt (OH), (p) 202-225-3164, (f) 202-225-1992
Adrian Smith (NE), (p) 202-225-6435, (f) 202-225-0207
Tim Walberg (MI), (p) 202-225-6276, (f) 202-225-6281
TALKING POINTS - To STOP NAIS:
- Please strip Section 121 from the draft Farm Bill. The law barring the USDA from using mandatory animal identification to implement COOL should not be changed, and NAIS should not be added to the Farm Bill.
- Country of Origin Labeling can and should be implemented without mandatory animal identification.
- Requiring all imported livestock to be identified with a country of origin marking is enough to implement COOL.
- Requiring U.S. cattle producers to individually identify all domestic cattle to prove their eligibility for a USA label is not necessary for COOL.
- Using mandatory animal identification to implement COOL would impose heavy burdens on American farmers and ranchers, in both time and money. NAIS will drive independent ranches and farms in America out of business.
- The purpose of COOL is to provide information so that consumers can choose whether to buy domestic or foreign products and, as a hoped-for result, providing American farmers and ranchers with economic rewards for raising food in this country.
- Mandatory animal identification would harm American farmers and ranchers, contrary to the goal of COOL.
- The right to know where our food comes from will be an empty right if it is purchased at the price of a mandatory animal identification system, such as the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). If mandatory animal ID is implemented, consumers would be fooled into believing that they were supporting American farmers and ranchers through the "Made in the USA" label. Yet more and more of the food labeled that way would be raised by international corporations that are willing and able to comply with NAIS.
SAMPLE LETTER OR EMAIL - Personalize for the greatest impact
If you use email, be sure to put a clear subject line, such as "Strip Section 121 from the Draft Farm Bill"
Dear Chairman Boswell and Members of the Committee:
I ask that you strip Section 121 from the draft Farm Bill. The law barring the USDA from using mandatory animal identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) should not be changed, and the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) should not be added to the Farm Bill.
I am a _______ (farmer, consumer, ... . Tell them a few sentences about yourself and why you care about this issue)
COOL can be implemented simply by requiring all imported livestock to be identified with a country of origin marking, which is already a requirement for cattle imported from Mexico or Canada. Requiring U.S. cattle producers to individually identify all domestic cattle to prove their eligibility for a USA label is simply not necessary. Using mandatory animal identification to implement COOL will impose heavy burdens on American farmers and ranchers, in both time and money. NAIS will drive independent ranches and farms in America out of business.
The purpose of COOL is to provide information so that consumers can choose whether to buy domestic or foreign products and, as a hoped-for result, providing American farmers and ranchers with economic rewards for raising food in this country. Mandatory animal identification will harm all Americans' rights and our economy. Mandatory animal identification will cancel out the goals of COOL.
The right to know where our food comes from will be an empty right if it is purchased at the price of a mandatory animal identification program such as the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). If NAIS is implemented, consumers will be fooled into believing that they were supporting American farmers and ranchers through the "Made in the USA" label. Yet more and more of the food labeled that way would be raised by international corporations that are willing and able to comply with NAIS.
Please strip Section 121 from the draft Farm Bill, and keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Email ( if you have it)