The House Committee on Agriculture is working on a draft version of the Farm Bill that includes two sections that pose a threat to our food supply.  The draft language would link the National Animal ID System (NAIS) to Country of Origin Labeling and pre-empt local control of our foods.  

Congress needs to hear from you NOW!  Below is the contact information for the Chair and the Ranking Minority Member of the Committee.  Call or write them, using the talking points and a sample letter that are at the end of this alert.  And if one or more of the members of the Committee are from your state, send them a copy of your letter as well.
 
We also need to educate the Senate Committee on Agriculture and the rest of Congress, to provide protection against whatever the House Committee may pass.  Contact information for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and your Congressman and Senator, are also listed below.

Post a flyer at your farmers markets, local feed stores, etc!  This version has information on the Texas members of the Committee, which should be changed to fit your state.
 
TAKE ACTION: Talking points and a sample letter are at the end of this alert.  Please write, email, fax, or call following members (listed in order of importance):
 
1)  The Honorable Collin C. Peterson
Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2171
Fax: 202-225-8510
Email: agriculture@mail.house.gov
 
2)  The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Agriculture
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-0029
Fax: 202-225-0917
Email: AgRepublicanPress@mail.house.gov
 
3) Any member of the House Committee on Agriculture who comes from your state. All of the members are listed below, and it's important that the members hear from the people within their state.  The members are listed in order of their states (starting with Alabama and ending with Wisconsin).
 
4)  Senator Harkin
Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
Room SR-328A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC. 20510-6000
Phone: 202-224-2035  
 
5)  Your Congressman and Senator: http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
 
Message:  Please strip Sections 121 and 123 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.  Further, the USDA should not be able to pre-empt state and local government control over food safety.
 
As always, if you have any questions, you can contact us at info@farmandranchfreedom.org or call 866-687-6452.

Background: Section 121 of the draft Farm Bill would allow the USDA to use a mandatory animal identification system in order to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).  This would open the door for the USDA to link the National Animal ID System (NAIS) to COOL.  Read more about NAIS and COOL at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/NAIS-and-COOL 
 
Section 123 of the draft would bar states or localities from prohibiting any food or agricultural product that USDA has deregulated.  This provision would deny local or state and state rights to regulate such things as genetically engineered crops or food.   You can read the proposed provisions at http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/Legislation/110/LDP.pdf.

Talking Points

* Please strip Sections 121 and 123 from the draft Farm Bill.  I oppose both the National Animal ID System (NAIS) and pre-emption of state and local control of our food supply.

*Section 121 / National Animal ID System: The law barring the USDA from using mandatory animal identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) should not be changed.
--COOL can be implemented simply by requiring that all imports of live animals or food be identified with a country of origin marking.  Requiring U.S. livestock owners to individually identify and track all domestic livestock is not necessary.
--Using mandatory animal identification to implement COOL would impose heavy burdens on American farmers and ranchers, in both time and money. A National Animal ID System (NAIS) would 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.
--NAIS will harm American farmers and ranchers, directly contrary to the goal of COOL.

* Section 123 / Federal Pre-emption: Section 123 section would pre-empt the rights of state and local governments to regulate food or agricultural products that USDA has granted "non-regulated" status.  This deprives citizens of their rights to enact laws to protect health and public safety at the local level.  Local and state governments need to retain their authority to regulate food and agricultural products, including genetically engineered (GE) foods and crops.

Sample letter or email 

If you use email, be sure to put a clear subject line, such as  "Keep NAIS and Pre-emption language out of the Draft Farm Bill"
 
Dear Chairman Peterson and Members of the Committee:
 
I ask that you strip Sections 121 and 123 from the draft Farm Bill. Section 121 would allow the USDA to use mandatory animal identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling, while Section 123 would pre-empt state and local laws regulating food and agricultural products.  I strongly oppose both provisions.
 
I am a _______ (farmer, consumer, ... Tell them a few sentences about yourself and why you care about this issue)
 
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.  COOL can be implemented 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 and track all livestock is 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, canceling out the benefits of COOL.
 
In addition, state and local government regulation of our food supply should not be preempted by the USDA.  Citizens across the country have sought local and state regulations to address critical concerns, including the use of genetically engineered foods and crops.  Section 123 is a back-door means of wiping out state and local food safety laws. This provision has no place in the Farm Bill.
 
Please strip Sections 121 and 123 from the draft Farm Bill, keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill, and protect local control of our food supply.
 
Sincerely,
Name
Address
City, State Zip
Email ( if you have it)
 
Cc:  Congressman Goodlatte
       Senator Harkin
       Senator ___________ (your Senator)
       Congressman __________ (your Congressman)

Members of House Committee on Agriculture

Name (State), Phone number, Fax number
 
Members are listed in order of their states (alphabetically).  Please contact any members who come from your state.  If you want to use e-mail, then go to the Congressperson's website, which you can find at http://www.house.gov/
 
Terry Everett (AL), (p) 202-225-2901, (f) 202-225-8913
Michael Rogers (AL), (p) 202-225-3261, (f) 202-226-8485
Jo Bonner (AL), (p) 202-225-4931, (f) 202-225-0562
Joe Baca (CA), (p) 202-225-6161, (f) 202-225-8671
Dennis Cardoza (CA), (p) 202-225-6131, (f) 202-225-0819
Jim Costa (CA), (p) 202-225-3341, (f) 202-225-9308
Kevin McCarthy  (CA), (202) 225-2915, (f) 202-225-2908
John T. Salazar (CO), (p) 202-225-4761, (f) 202-226-9669
Marilyn Musgrove (CO), (p) 202-225-4676, (f) 202-225-5870
Timothy Mahoney (FL), (p) 202-225-5792, (f) 202-225-3132
David Scott (GA), (p) 202-225-2939, (f) 202-225-4628
Jim Marshall (GA), (p) 202-225-6531, (f) 202-225-3013
John Barrow (GA), (p) 866-890-6236, (f) 202-225-3377
Leonard L. Boswell, (IA), (p) 202-225-3806, (f) 202-225-5608
Steve King (IA), (p) 202-225-4426, (f) 202-225-3193
Timothy Johnson (IL), 202-225-2371, (f) 202-226-0791
Brad Ellsworth (IN), (p) 866-567-0227, (f) 202-225-3284
Joe Donnelly (IN), (p) 202-225-3915, (f) 202-225-6798
Nancy Boyda (KS), (p) 202-225-6601, (f) 202-225-7986
Jerry Moran (KS), (p) 202-225-2715, (f) 202-225-5124
Charles W. Boustany, Hr. (LA), (p) 202-225-2031, (f) 202-225-5724
Tim Walberg (MI), (p) 202-225-6276, (f) 202-225-6281
Collin Peterson (MN), (p) 202-225-2165, (f) 202-225-1593
Timothy J. Walz (MN), (p) 202-225-2472, (f) 202-225-3433
Sam Graves (MO), (p) 202-225-7041, (f) 202-225-8221
Earl Pomeroy, (ND), (p) 202-225-2611, (f) 202-226-0893
Mike McIntyre (NC), (p) 202-225-2731, (f) 202-225-5773
Bob Etheridge (NC), (p) 202-225-4531, (f) 202-225-5662
Robin Hayes, (NC), (p) 202-225-3715, (f)202-225-4036
Virginia Foxx (NC), (p) 202-225-2071, (f) 202-225-2995
Jeff Fortnberry (NE), (p) 202-225-4806, (f) 202-225-5686
Adrian Smith (NE), (p) 202-225-6435, (f) 202-225-0207
Kirsten Gillibrand, (NY), (p) 202-225-5614, (f)202-225-1168
John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (NY), 202-225-3161, (f) 202-226-6599
Zachary T. Space (OH), (p) 202-225-6265, (f) 330-364-4330
Jean Schmidt (OH), (p) 202-225-3164, (f) 202-225-1992
Frank D. Lucas (OK), (p) 202-225-5565, (f) 202-225-8698
Tim Holden (PA), (p) 202-225-5546, (f) 202-226-0996
Stephanie Herseth Sandline, (SD), (p) 202-225-2801, (f) 202-225-5823
Lincoln Davis, (TN), (p) 202-225-6831, 9f) 202-226-5172
Henry Cuellar (TX), (p) 202-225-1640, (f) 202-225-1641
Mike Conaway (TX), (p) 202-225-3605, (f) 202-225-1783
Randy Neugebauer (TX), (p) 202-225-4005, (f) 202-225-9615
Nicholas Lampson (TX), (p) 202-225-5951, (f) 202-225-5241
Bob Goodlatte (VA), (p) 202-225-5431, (f) 202-225-9681
Steve Kagen (WI), (p) 202-225-5665, (f) 202-225-5729