misleading headline to article in NY Times makes it seem like NAIS is dead

I'm a little late in uploading this response to a New York Times article.  I sent this to OCFA's email list and uploaded it on several Facebook foodie pages.

This article, published yesterday, has already been blasted all over, including in the Organic Consumers and Farmers Association online newsletter and also in Farm and Ranch's online newsletter. The headline makes it sound like the Feds are giving up on NAIS. But they are not. Animal traceback and destruction are still included in S510 (which WILL go to a vote one of these days...) and the article itself makes it clear that states are still expected to work on traceback and that the Feds will design a new program.


Disturbingly, the article also says the American Farm Bureau was against NAIS, but they were in fact, a major author of it.

We know that many people don't read entire newspaper articles; makes you wonder if the USDA submitted a press release with this headline because it served them to mislead, or if the newspaper had a reason to mislead.

In another note, Oregon Consumers and Farmers Association has a Facebook page (Oregon Farm Rights), where I post articles of interest. The recent Supreme Court decision to legalize corporate buying of legislators will also affect us. On my personal FB page, I post about this type of thing several days a week; on OCFA's page I try to be more moderate. Friend either or both of us for access to regular political rants! :)  Make sure you mention that you are interested in food rights.

-Larisa

The article is here:
U.S.D.A. Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock
Eric Draper for The New York Times

The H. Jay Platt family operates a 16,000-acre ranch in New Mexico, and opposes a federal identification plan to track livestock.

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

Published: February 5, 2010

Faced with stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers, the Obama administration has decided to scrap a national program intended to help authorities quickly identify and track livestock in the event of an animal disease outbreak.

In abandoning the program, called the National Animal Identification System, officials said they would start over in trying to devise a livestock tracing program that could win widespread support from the industry.

The agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, will announce the changes on Friday, according to officials at the Agriculture Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public.

The officials said that it would be left to the states to devise many aspects of a new system, including requirements for identifying livestock.

New federal rules will be developed but the officials said they would apply only to animals being moved in interstate commerce, such as cattle raised in one state being transported to a slaughterhouse in another state.

It could take two years or more to create new federal rules, the officials said, and it was not clear how far the government would go to restrict the movement of livestock between states if the animals did not meet basic traceability standards.

The system was created by the Bush administration in 2004 after the discovery in late 2003 of a cow infected with mad cow disease.

Participation of ranchers and farmers in the identification system was voluntary, but the goal was to give every animal, or in the case of pigs and poultry, groups of animals, a unique identification number that would be entered in a database. The movements of animals would be tracked, and if there was a disease outbreak or a sick animal was found, officials could quickly locate other animals that had been exposed.

But the system quickly drew the ire of many farmers and ranchers, particularly cattle producers. Some objected to the cost of identification equipment and the extra work in having to report their animals’ movements. Others said they believed the voluntary system would become mandatory, that it was intrusive and that the federal government would use it to pry into their lives and finances.

The old system received $142 million in federal financing, but gained the participation of only 40 percent of the nation’s livestock producers, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

When Mr. Vilsack took over the Agriculture Department last year, he began a series of public meetings on the identification program and was bombarded by strident opposition.

Agriculture officials said that most details of a new system would be worked out in the coming months through consultation with the livestock industry and the states.

“It was just overwhelming in the country that people didn’t like it, and I think they took that feedback to heart,” said Mary Kay Thatcher, public policy director of the American Farm Bureau Federation, which had opposed the identification system. “I think it’s good they’ve at least said we’re going to do something different.”

Carol Tucker Foreman, a food safety expert of the Consumer Federation of America, agreed that the old system was not working and needed to be changed.

But she worried that a new system that could have different rules in every state might not be effective.

“It’s very, very hard to have an effective state-by-state program,” she said.

Joel Salatin's visit to Oregon

It's been a whirlwind several days for Joel, although he often packs his days tightly when he travels. Patrick Donaldson of Portland scheduled it all and did a great job of making sure a lot of people could get their Joel fix.

Thursday they went to the Urban Farm store and Whole Foods in Portland, then to the Hollywood neighborhood of Portland to host a fundraiser for Hollywood Market and Oregon Consumers and Farmers Association (of which I am President). I gave my obligatory speech thanking Joel and Patrick for the fundraiser, added in what OCFA was going to be doing next and plugged the anti-NAIS petition Sharlyn and I have been circulating for a few months. (Patrick and I want to host a Feed Our Legislators event in February in Salem and I'd like to have 2,000 plus signatures by then!) I was pleased that people laughed when I hoped they'd laugh, clapped when I hoped they'd clap and that many stopped by to sign before they left the building. We got one membership on the spot and enough people took brochures and newsletters so I hope more memberships will come in the mail.

Joel got on stage and kept the audience spellbound with his stories of government interferance in the lives of small farmers. Many complain and whine. Part of Joel's popularity is that he can make ridiculous and maddening laws and situations funny. People know the subject is serious and they know they should be angry, but angry speakers are not great entertainment. Because Joel is a natural story teller and because he flashes huge, beautiful smiles often, people will listen to his tales of woe and LIKE IT.

I had to go home and take care of the animals and open the store Friday so I missed the activities then, but Joel and Patrick did the radio and tv circuit. It sounded like so much fun!

Saturday they went to the new farm owned by Patrick's daughter Alisha and her husband Tyler Jones, who used to be an apprentice of Joel's. Tyler and I met in Virginia in 2003 or 2004 I think, when there was a meeting at Joel's house not too long after he became VICFA's president. I was amazed at what Tyler and Alisha had for a home base: a very pretty (although in disrepair) historic Federal style farmhouse overlooking 106 acres. Tyler's only 29. Apparently he is mortgaged to the eyeballs, but he also has an AWESOME family on both his and Alisha's sides. Both fathers help feed and care for the animals! Patrick owns a business in Portland, but comes down a couple days at a time and lets the kids sleep in while he does chores. How incredibly cool is that??? Tyler's father helped build the processing barn. I haven't met Tyler's mother, but Alisha's mother, Patrick's wife, started a food buying club in Portland. How cool is THAT? Wardeh, if you're reading this, I gave her your GNOFGLINS blog info and told her you might have some pointers.

Joel's success as a farmer is also partially due to incredible family support. His success as a writer and public speaker, of course, is partially because he is naturally a go-getter, and partially because his family makes it possible for him to globetrot. Son Daniel takes care good of the farm and Teresa knows Joel will eventually, faithfully come home.

I got off track here. A little side foray into the importance of a loving family.

Joel and Tyler split the spotlight today. They talked about raising and processing chickens, custom grazing other people's cattle, a family milk cow, bees, pigs, politics, etc. I kept mostly quiet until they got to the politics and then I had to throw in my two cents now and then. They took us around the farm and again, I was amazed at the potential. It's an expensive farm, but it is also just barely outside the city, which will help hugely with their customer base. The view from the main house is pretty. They have quite a lot of pasture that is dry and lifeless now, but could be brought back to fertility within a couple of years. Tyler and his dad Brad did a great job building the processing building. It is not finished, but looks professional already.

I collected more signatures and emails on the Anti-NAIS petitition. I didn't get any memberships today, but I felt like several people were very likely to join.

The hard part is I spent $110 on gas, am sitting on E, didn't open the store two days and don't have a lot to show for it yet. The good part is I feel like OCFA and I have turned a corner. I think I made friends today I will keep for a lifetime. I have felt mighty lonely since moving here. I also think Patrick deserves more gratitude than I was able to show him in my little gift of food from my store. He introduced me to a lot of people I really needed to meet. I enjoyed seeing Joel for the first time in almost two and a half years. I have lots of email addresses (I hope I can read) to send information about bills in Congress and in Oregon's Legislative Assembly. I will send them an email version of a newsletter, information about upcoming OCFA events and will hopefully get at least a dozen memberships from these two events.

I found out when I came back that the House has sent HR2749 as they passed it to the Senate for consideration. The Senate already has S510. We will have to watch these closely. I will read and compare the two and write back.