Action Alert
January 30, 2007
Attend the Michigan Commission of Agriculture
Meeting
on Tuesday, February 6, 2007!
We need a lot of people who oppose the Michigan Mandatory Cattle RFID tagging program and NAIS to show up at the Commission's next meeting. The meeting is on Tuesday, February 6, at the Lansing Center, Governor's Room, 333 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933. The meeting starts at 10:00 am and the public comment period will begin at 11:00 am.
If you want to speak during the public comment period, you must contact Debra Merrill (her contact info is below). If you plan to attend and do not want to speak, you may leave written comments for the record. Possible talking points are at the end of this alert. As always, personalize your comments and focus on the one or two points that matter the most to you. This will be our last chance to make points to the Commission before the March 1 implementation date. The large numbers of people at the previous meetings have made an impression on some of the commission members, so we need to keep the heat on!!!
If you have questions, need more info on this issue, or want to carpool, please contact Lisa Imerman at Lrimerman@comcast.net or 248-618-9266. Lisa is the Michigan Coordinator for Liberty Ark Coalition www.libertyark.net.
Contact info:
Deb Merrill, Executive Office
Michigan Department of Agriculture
POB 30017
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 335-4576
Fax: (517) 335-1423
merrilld@michigan.gov
http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1572_2878---,00.html
Economic Damage: NAIS and the Michigan's Mandatory RFID Cattle tagging program will drive farmers and ranchers out of business and hurt Michigan's economy
- There has been no cost analysis by USDA or MDA
- Costs of the program = the cost of the tags, hardware, software, and labor
- Small farmer and ranchers will pay these costs, and many cannot afford it.
- Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers go out of business.
- Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, lowering demand for local foods.
- The Governor's Michigan Food Policy Council recommended increasing the purchasing of Michigan-grown food products, supporting local farmers, to stimulate Michigan's economy. MDA's program undermines these goals.
- Export isn't the answer for Michigan's local farmers.
No Scientific Basis: Neither the USDA nor the MDA has scientific proof show that this will improve disease control
- It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of disease, in domestic or wild animals.
- It does not significantly improve on current methods for identification and tracking of disease. Even with the RFID program in place, MDA recommends farmers still keep written field records. So, farmers must now use two systems.
Not for Food Safety: The program will not improve food safety
- USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program
- Contamination of food with e. coli and other bacteria occurs at the slaughterhouse or afterwards.
Not About Terrorism: The program will not protect against terrorism.
- The microchips chosen by the state can be cloned, destroyed, or infected with computer viruses, and reprogrammed. Any terrorist or thief can use this.
- The database of information will be created by Michigan but available to USDA. Government databases can be hacked into.
Unconstitutional: The NAIS and Michigan's mandatory Cattle RFID tagging program infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom. MDA's proposal to address religious concerns isn't fully defined.
Voluntary Federal NAIS: USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring MDA to move forward with this program.
- The MDA has signed a Cooperative Agreement with USDA, however, and is also getting federal funds for implementing the cattle tagging program. MDA is following funding, not the will of the citizens of the state.
- MDA also has a conflict of interest because one of the main officials implementing this program, Kevin Kirk, is the Treasurer for an industry organization (NIAA) that is advocating for NAIS.
No Legal Basis: MDA is implementing this new program via policy change, with no new legislation or the normal regulatory process.
- Without any pre-notification, the MDA simply assigned a USDA premises number to all people who had herds tested in the TB Eradication program, which may lead to expensive litigation over misuse of people's information