Action Alert
April 2, 2007
Call and Write Your Senator to support SB 428!
SB 428 has been placed on the Senate Calendar. We do not know exactly when it will come up for a vote - it could be as early as this week, although it will most likely be next week. So it's important to call your Senator NOW. Even if you have talked with your Senator about NAIS already, please call again. He or she needs to know (1) that SB 428 is coming up for a vote soon, and (2) you want them to vote YES on it.
If you don't know who your Senator is, you can look them up at:
www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx.
(Senator Purgason is the sponsor of the bill, so if he's your Senator, you can just say thanks!)
Talking points and a sample email are provided below. Remember, always be polite. Be brief and to the point. Calls are the best approach! If you must use email, put "Vote for SB 428" in the subject line.
Background: SB 428 would prohibit Missouri's participation in a federal N.A.I.S. and any similar program. SB 428 will not interfere with voluntary value-added verification programs or current state animal disease programs. The bill cancels any Cooperative Agreement between Missouri and the USDA to implement NAIS. Importantly, it also contains an anti-discrimination provision, which protects people who choose not to participate in any privately-run voluntary program. It provides a procedure for people to withdraw if they have already been put in the premises database. senate.mo.gov/07info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=10742.
Talking Points:
Begin with: "I want you to vote for SB 428 and stop NAIS in Missouri." Then you can talk about the reasons NAIS should be stopped and this bill should be passed:
NAIS will hurt Missouri's economy:
- There has been no cost analysis by USDA or Missouri Department of Agriculture
- Costs of the program include the cost of the tags, hardware, software, time and labor
- Many small farmer and ranchers cannot afford these costs
- 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, adding to inflation
Neither the USDA nor the state agency has scientific proof show that NAIS 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.
NAIS is not necessary for the market. Age- and source-verification is already available through the USDA's Process Verified Program
NAIS 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, while NAIS will stop before that point.
NAIS 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, created by the state agency and available to USDA, will provide a target for hackers.
NAIS infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom.
USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring Missouri to implement this program.
Other states are also rejecting or limiting NAIS, so Missouri will not be disadvantaged by refusing to participate.
Sample email:
Subject line: "Vote Yes on SB 428"
Dear Senator _______________:
I urge you to vote yes on SB 428, which would stop the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) from being implemented in Missouri.
I am a ____ (small farmer, consumer, taxpayer - tell them a sentence about yourself). I am opposed to NAIS because it will impose heavy burdens on our rights and our economy, without providing any real benefits. Neither the USDA nor the Missouri State Department of Agriculture has provided any scientific basis for the claims of improved disease control. NAIS is an unprecedented expansion of the government bureaucracy into people's private lives and infringes on our property rights. NAIS will drive many small and medium-size farmers and ranchers out of business and discourage people from owning horses and other livestock as pets, resulting in far-reaching effects on our economy. The only winners in this program are the microchip manufacturers, the associations that will manage the databases, and the government employees.
Again, I urge you to support SB 428.
Thank you for your attention to this issue.
Name
Address
City, State, Zip