Please vote and pass this message from Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance on to others to vote.
NAIS http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/ violates farmers' constitutional rights on many levels.
It involves feeding global tracking data of every farm animal in the country into corporate data banks giving corporations a means of 24 hour surveillance over small farmers, and with first penalties as high as $250,000 and second ones, $500,000, and couldn't be a more serious threat to farmers - a single infraction would destroy any of them - and to diverse animal breeds.
My take on it is that NAIS is a beginning on the animal side of what Monsanto did to seeds. The monopoly over seeds began with corporations gaining thorough information on where seeds were being sold and stored, and from there, they bought up and/or eliminated as many indigenous varieties as possible, substituting their own very limited number of genetically engineered seeds, thus creating a monopoly over those few. Farmers are left with few places now to turn for normal, non-GMO seeds they can still "own" and their equipment for cleaning seeds is being criminalized and the seed cleaners picked off.
Monsanto and other agri-biotech corporations are genetically engineering animals now and the same monopolistic control over animals will also depend on eliminating variety, forcing farmers into full dependence on patented corporate animals. The farmers will be left renting animals as they now do seeds, unable to own any offspring, just as they cannot collect seeds off their own property.
I believe this is one of the intents behind NAIS, along with displacing liability for any disease outbreak onto any farmer they wish or simply crushing farmers who are raising animals away from the industrial system.
NAIS is being pushed by the same corporations which caused Mad Cow disease in the first place and are implicated in causing Bird Flu, both through filthy practices in their huge and filthy animal factories (CAFOs), feedlots and slaughter houses which are breeding grounds for diseases. These corporations, claiming NAIS is for "food safety" (just as the war on Iraq was for freedom and democracy) are the same ones blocking inspections and lowering contamination standards.NAIS is an immense threat to our farmers and I believe it is dangerous threat to our animal breeds and has to be stopped.Thanks.
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