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Alert:
Call the Senate Appropriations! |
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The
Senate Appropriations Committee will hear the Agriculture
Appropriations bill this Thursday, July
17. With the House
appropriations bill stalled, it is very important that we make
sure the Senate does not put in pro-NAIS provisions to its
version of the
bill!
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Take
Action!
Call
or fax your Senator if he or she is on the Senate
Appropriations Committee. The members are
listed at:
http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/Senate_Approps_08
If your Senator is not on the Committee, then contact
the Chair (Senator Byrd, D-WV) and Ranking Member (Senator
Cochran, R-MS).
Ask to speak to the staffer who
handles appropriations. If you get their voice mail,
leave the following message, or something in your own words
that makes the same points:
MESSAGE:
My name is _______. I am a constituent [or am calling
because you are Chair/Ranking Member of Appropriations,
whichever applies]. I am calling
because I am against the National Animal Identification
System, or NAIS. I urge the Senator to oppose the
inclusion of any provision linking NAIS to other programs,
including the School Lunch Program. NAIS, which tracks
live animals, will not improve food safety because most food
safety problems start at the slaughterhouse and food
processing facilities. Funding for NAIS, particularly
any mandatory NAIS, needs to be stopped. Please call me
back at ________.
When you talk to the staffer,
be sure to make the same points as in the message, and expand
on them with some of the talking points below.
Ask that the Senators keep NAIS
out of the Senate Appropriations
bill. |
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Non-profit
organizations
Eighty
organizations have now signed on to a letter opposing the
House Appropriations provision linking NAIS to the School
Lunch Program. The deadline to sign on has been extended
indefinitely, due to the delay in the House Appropriations
bills.
You can read the letter at
http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/SignOnLetter080625.pdf
This
letter is for non-profit organizations. If you are a
for-profit entity, farm, ranch, or individual, please take the
steps listed above for individuals to take action. Thank
you! |
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Talking
Points for Calls and Faxes
In
addition to the message above, here are some more talking
points about why NAIS should not be linked to the School Lunch
Program (as was done in the House) or funded. Pick one
or two to focus on, and put them in your own
words!
* NAIS will
not improve food
safety. The massive
Hallmark/Westland beef recall this past year was caused by the
slaughterhouse employees' failure to follow existing
regulations for handling "downer" cows. Mandating NAIS
on cattle producers will not make anybody obey the laws we
already have.
*
The money would be better spent on measures that truly improve
animal health and food safety, such as safety inspections at
packing and processing
plants.
*
NAIS is not scientifically or economically sound.
* USDA has presented no science
to back up its claims that NAIS will address livestock
diseases.
* The USDA has
never completed a cost/benefit
analysis.
*
Linking NAIS to other programs, such as the School Lunch
Program, uses the government's power to economically coerce
farmers into NAIS. That is not a "voluntary"
program.
*
Using the school lunch program to force farmers into NAIS
undermines the growing farm-to-school program, which helps
children get fresh, local, and sustainably raised foods.
Local farmers should not be forced into an unpopular program
that has nothing to do with food quality or safety in order to
provide food for our children.
* NAIS has never
been specifically approved by Congress. This massive
program, which will impact millions of people, should be
addressed through full and open debate, not snuck in through
appropriations.
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Farm
& Food Leadership Conference
Be
part of an exciting gathering of non-profit leaders, farmers
and ranchers, farmers market organizers, local foods
activists, and more! Join us in Austin, Texas on August
18 and 19 for the Second Annual Farm and Food Leadership
Conference.
The
first day will feature top speakers on issues such as water
rights and management, the National Animal ID System,
genetically modified foods, the Farm Bill, and local food
systems. The second day will include workshops to help
give each person the tools to effectively take action on
these, or any other issue you care about!
For more
information and to register, go to http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/conference2008
WHEN:
Monday and Tuesday, August 18-19,
2008
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Please
take a few minutes and call your Senator
today! Working together, we can
make our voices heard.
Judith
McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
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This
email service uses active, trackable links. If they do
not come through your email properly, or you are not
comfortable with them, you can always find the materials by
navigating our website.
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