Attorneys for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund today sent a
Notice of Intent to Sue letter to the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) over
implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a
plan to electronically track every livestock animal in the country.
The Notice asks the USDA and MDA to “immediately
suspend the funding and implementation of NAIS,”
and “fully and fairly examine”
whether there is even a need for such a program.
Taaron Meikle, Fund president, said that contrary to USDA’s
claim, NAIS will do nothing to protect the health of livestock and
poultry. “At a time when food safety and
costs are a concern, the USDA has spent over $118 million to promote a
program that will burden everyone from pleasure horse owners to ranchers
and small farmers to individuals who raise a few chickens or steers on
their own land for their own use.”
Once fully implemented, the NAIS program would require every person who
owns even one livestock or poultry animal (a single chicken or a pet
pony) to register their property with the state and federal government,
to tag each animal, and to report “events”
to a database within 24 hours. Reportable events would include such
things as a private sale, a state fair, or a horse show.
The Notice charges that USDA has never published rules regarding NAIS,
in violation of the Federal Administrative Procedures Act; has never
performed an Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental
Assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act; is in
violation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act that requires them to
analyze proposed rules for their impact on small entities and local
governments; and violates religious freedoms guaranteed by the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act.
“We also think there are constitutional
issues at stake here,” Meikle noted. “The
requirement to use electronic ear tags or RFID chips violates the
religious beliefs of some farmers, such as the Amish, and provisions in
a memorandum of understanding between the USDA and the MDA could violate
the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution by requiring the
state to stop and inspect vehicles carrying livestock without a warrant
or probable cause.”
The MDA has implemented the first two stages of NAIS--property
registration and animal identification--for all cattle and farmers
across the state as part of its mandatory bovine tuberculosis disease
control program, which is mandated by a grant from the USDA.
“While touted as a disease control program,
the NAIS will drive many small farmers out of business,”
Meikle noted, “and burden every person who
owns even one horse, chicken, cow, goat, sheep, pig, llama, alpaca, or
other livestock animal with expensive and intrusive government
regulations.”
Joe Golimbieski, a farmer from Standish, Michigan and Fund member,
explains: “The cost of the tags is just the
start. We’re at the mercy of whatever price
the stockyards charge to do the tagging. And our farm doesn’t
have extra employees to deal with paperwork. NAIS is likely to put us
out of business.”
Gary Cox, General Counsel for the Fund, states that, “USDA
and MDA have exceeded their authority and they have completely failed to
follow the proper procedures. We are calling on the agencies to
immediately halt implementation of the program or face appropriate
action.”
About The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: The Fund’s
mission is to defend the freedoms and to broaden the rights of
sustainable farmers and their consumers to produce and consume local,
nutrient-dense foods. Concerned citizens can support the Fund by
joining at www.farmtoconsumer.org
or by contacting the Fund at 703-208-FARM. The Fund’s
sister organization, the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation (www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org),
works to support farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and
promote consumer access to local, nutrient-dense food.
Editor’s Note: The Notice of Intent to
Sue the (USDA) and (MDA) is available at www.farmtoconsumer.org.
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
and Farm-to-Consumer Foundation
Taaron
G. Meikle, 703-537-8372
President
tgmeikle@aol.com
or
Cummings
& Company LLC
Brian Cummings, 214-295-7463
brian@cummingspr.com