Action Alert
April 27, 2007
Agriculture Committee Meeting on Thursday, May 3
Public opposition to NAIS has been growing by leaps and bounds as word gets out about the May 1 deadline for dairy farmers to register their property or lose their licenses. Public meetings with the agency have drawn large crowds and press coverage. We need to keep up the pressure!
The Agriculture Committee of the Wisconsin Assembly will be holding a meeting on Thursday, May 3. Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt, the State Vet, will do a presentation on the premises registration system. It does not appear that the public will be allowed to speak. But it will still make an impact on the committee members if a lot of people show up to the meeting. Take this opportunity to go to the Capitol and meet with your Representative and Senator in person! An in-person meeting makes a much greater impact than calls or letters.
If you can't make it to the Capitol on Thursday, call the Committee members and your own Representative to tell them what you think about NAIS. The Committee members' contact information is at the end of this alert, after the talking points and sample letter.
ACTION 1: Attend the hearing
WHEN: Thursday, May 3, starting at 9 am
WHERE: 417 North (GAR Hall), State Capitol. The Committee sometimes
changes location at the last minute, so call Chairman Ott's
office just before you head out to the Capitol. His number is (888)
534-0003.
ACTION 2: Call your Representative and Senator ahead of time, and ask each of them to meet with you to discuss NAIS while you are at the Capitol for this Committee hearing. If you do not know who your legislators are, go to waml.legis.state.wi.us/ and click on "Who Represents Me?" Take a copy of Liberty Ark's model bill (www.libertyark.net/draft-state917.htm) with you, as an example of what you'd like to see them do! We can also provide other lobbying materials, just contact us at noah@libertyark.net
ALTERNATIVE ACTION: Call all the Committee members. Tell them that you cannot attend the hearing, but this is a very important issue to you and you want the Legislature to take action. And also call your Representative and Senator!
Family Farm Defenders is assisting in finding legal counsel to
defend against an enforcement action if farmers are punished for not
registering. For more information on that, go to:
www.familyfarmdefenders.org/pmwiki.php/
FoodSovereignty/ActionAlertToOpposeWisconsinPremisesRegistration
As always, if you have any questions, email us at:
noah@libertyark.net. Below are
talking points for calls and a sample letter. You can get more
in-depth arguments against NAIS on our website, www.libertyark.net. And encourage
your friends and family to sign up as supporters of Liberty Ark!
TALKING POINTS FOR CALLS OR MEETINGS
NAIS will hurt Wisconsin's economy:
- There has been no analysis at federal or state level that establishes the costs or benefits of NAIS.
- 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, lowering demand for local foods and driving inflation
Neither the USDA nor the the state agency has scientific proof 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 and available to USDA, will provide a target for hackers.
NAIS infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom.
Mandatory premises registration alone is a violation of our rights. Never before in the history of our country has a person had to report to the state simply because he or she owns animals.
NAIS unfairly attacks the rights of pet owners and those who raise animals as food for their family.
USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring Wisconsin to implement this program.
Other states are also rejecting or limiting NAIS, so Wisconsin will not be disadvantaged by refusing to participate. The Arizona House and Senate, and the Texas House, have approved bills that limit NAIS to a voluntary program only, and the Missouri Senate has approved a bill barring NAIS completely.
SAMPLE LETTER
Personalize and put it into your own words for the greatest effect!! If you are an animal owner faced with mandatory premises registration under the current regulations, explain what it would mean for you.
Dear Representative _________:
I am a ____ (small farmer, consumer, taxpayer - tell them a sentence about yourself). I am writing to ask that you support a bill to roll back NAIS in Wisconsin.
I am opposed to all three stages of NAIS - premises registration, animal identification, and tracking - because they impose heavy burdens on our rights and our economy, without providing any real benefits. Neither the USDA nor the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) have 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.
I urge you to introduce a bill that would reverse the DATCP's mandatory premises registration regulations, would stop any portion of NAIS from being mandatory, and prevent coercion from being used to force people into the program. The best approach would be to reject the entire program.
I look forward to your response. Thank you for your attention to this issue.
Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Email if you have it
COMMITTEE MEMBERS' CONTACT INFORMATION
Representative Alvin Ott (Chair): (888) 534-0003 or
Rep.Ott@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Lee Nerison (Vice-Chair): (888) 534-0096 or
Rep.Nerison@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Mary Williams: (715) 748-5980 or
Rep.WilliamsM@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Jeffrey Mursau: (608) 266-3780 or
Rep.Mursau@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative John Murtha: (608) 266-7683 or
Rep.Murtha@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Gary Tauchen: (608) 266-3097 or
Rep.Tauchen@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Barbara Gronemus: (888) 534-0091 or
Rep.Gronemus@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Louis Molepske: (888) 534-0071 or
Rep.Molepske@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Andy Jorgensen: (608) 266-3790 or
Rep.Jorgensen@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Amy Sue Vruwink: (888) 534-0070 or
Rep.Vruwink@legis.wisconsin.gov
Representative Phil Garthwaite: (608) 266-1170 or
Rep.Garthwaite@legis.wisconsin.gov