Immediate Action Needed to Protect Our Food Supply! Fight Cattle ID!

We face a serious threat to our food supply. The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) has pushed through a requirement to add a new electronic tag to all cattle by March 1, 2007, just 6 weeks from now. This is a needless, costly procedure that will saddle small family farms with practical, financial, and ethical burdens. Many may leave the business rather than comply, or be forced out by the costs. While this is being done under the guise of the tuberculosis program, it is also the start of a federal program, called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which will bring all animals (including pets) under massive government surveillance.

MDA’s plan will harm both farmers and consumers. Please contact our Governor and ask her to halt the program until reasonable alternatives can be found.

What to Do

Contact the Governor:

Between Wednesday, January 17, and Friday, February 9, call, fax, e-mail or write the Governor. Focus on just one or two points in each message. State your name and address and ask the Governor to stop implementation of the Michigan Mandatory Animal Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Program. This is the only way we can stop this with so little time left.

We need 3,000 messages to get her attention enough to act. We can do this! (1) contact the Governor yourself and (2) forward the alert to 10 friends. We need to reach farmers and consumers throughout the state with this request!

Contact information:

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, P.O. Box 30113, Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: (517) 373-3400
Fax: (517) 335-6863
Email form: http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7- 168-21992_21995-65331--,00.html

What to Say & How

Call, fax, and email are best if you can do it. Below are talking points that you may use in your messages. Be sure to personalize your call, email or letter – tell her a bit about who you are and why you think this is important. Show you care, but stay polite.

Messages Due to Governor by February 9th - Meeting

Friday, February 9th is the target date to deliver messages. We will then ask the Governor for an in- person meeting to present the issues. If you must use mail, for religious reasons, just send the letters as soon as you can.

For more information, go to www.libertyark.net or contact Lisa Imerman at lrimerman@comcast.net or 248-618-9266.

Talking Points

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
o There has been no cost analysis by USDA or MDA
o Costs of the program = the cost of the tags, hardware, software, and labor
o Small farmer and ranchers will pay these costs, and many cannot afford it.
o Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers go out of business.
o Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, lowering demand for local foods.
o 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.
o 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
o It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of disease, in domestic or wild animals.
o 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
o USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.

o 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

CONCLUSION: Many legislators are prepared to address the issue, but they need more time. We implore the Governor to stop this program before March 1.

For more information about NAIS, visit our website at www.fa rmandranchfreedom.org.

Working together, we can make our voices heard!

Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
email: judith@farmandranchfreedom.org
phone: 866-687-6452
web: http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org