Last Chance to Stop NAIS

"Protect Our Food Supply - Stop NAIS!" is still in the running at change.org, but it needs over two thousand more votes to make it into the Top 10 Ideas.  And only the top 10 entries in this online contest "win" and have their ideas presented at the National Press Club on January 16th and advocacy campaigns organized to promote them.  

 

The competition ends this Thursday, January 15, at 5 pm eastern time.  In addition to voting for stopping NAIS, please let everyone you know who is interested in supporting local, sustainable agriculture know. 

Step 1: If you are not already signed up for the site, register at:  https://www.change.org/admin/sign_up  

 

Step 2: Go to http://www.change.org/ideas/view/stop_nais   Be sure to click the box labeled "Vote!" to the left of "Protect Our Food Supply -- Stop NAIS!"    Leaving a comment does not count as a vote.  

 

After you click the Vote box, it will change color and show "Voted."  If it does not do that, shift your mouse a bit and click again, because it sometimes take several tries. 

Help Stop NAIS

You may or may not have heard about the National Animal Identification System. But if you support local farmers, you'll do what you can to stop it. Our friend Judith McGeary from the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance points out two websites that are allowing people to speak up about issues they want President-elect Obama to address when he takes office and both are running questions related to NAIS.

The private website, www.change.org, will present the "Top 10 Ideas for America" to the Obama Adminsitration on Inauguration Day.   The first phase of the voting ends today, and the top 3 ideas in each category will be selected for the second round of voting. 

"Stop NAIS" is currently in second place in Agriculture, and the voting is very close!  A few votes may make the difference between the Stop NAIS message making it to the next round, or not!    

Step 1: If you are not already signed up for the site, register at:  https://www.change.org/admin/sign_up  

Step 2: Go to http://www.change.org/ideas/view/stop_nais   Be sure to click the box labeled "vote!" to the left of the Stop NAIS!  Simply leaving a comment does not count as a vote.

And the Obama Transition Team has set up a section calld "Open for Questions" on the official website.  They have not specified the deadline for submitting or voting on questions, but said they will respond to the top issues "in the new year." 

Step 1: Go to http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions20081229/  

Step 2: Type "animal identification" into the box next to "Search Questions"  There are currently 8 questions that involve NAIS that can be found by searching those terms.   

Step 3: Click on the checkmark by the question to vote "yes".  If you are not already signed in, you will  be asked to, with a link at the top of the box.

Petition for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Quoting from an e-mail from Slow Food president Josh Viertal: 

"In these final days before President Elect Obama makes his selection for Secretary of Agriculture, we urge you to spread the word to your members about a petition they can sign to express their support for dynamic and sustainable choices for the post.  The petition lists six suggestions, including Gus Schumacher, Former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Slow Food leader Neil Hamilton, the Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University.  

"Erika and I are on the list of original signers, as are several SFUSA board members and leaders around the country. You can find the petition here: http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/. 

"Even if the new administration doesn’t pick one of the listed candidates, signing the petition sends a strong message that we want a good, clean and fair food system and that we expect our new administration to make choices that support that vision."

So what are you waiting for?

Read the Gourmet Interview with the New Slow Food USA President

We have a new leader in the US and Gourmet Magazine interviewed him recently on his plans for the organization.   A quote: 

"I can imagine Slow Food over time having a membership and a reach that enables it to put real pressure on federal policymakers in the next food and farm bill discussion in the same way the Natural Resources Defense Council or the Sierra Club could affect policy for the environmental movement." 

It's worth taking a few minutes to read.

NAIS: Putting Local Ranchers Out of Business

Seems Congress is now trying to help the US Department of Agriculture make what has been billed as a voluntary system, mandatory, and in the process shut small farmers and ranchers out of the farm-to-school program. The system is the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) which is a USDA plan to electronically track every livestock animal in the country (an ill-conceived, bureaucratic nightmare that masquerades as a food safety measure).

Today, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee will take up a provision of the 2009 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that was introduced last week by Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). It would require all meat products for the school lunch program be purchased only from livestock premises registered with NAIS. Long story short: The extra cost NAIS imposes on small ranchers and farmers will in many cases put them out of business and out of the farm-to-school program.

Ironically, the farm-to-school program is all about improving children's nutrition while providing family farms with a reliable market.

A lot of groups are opposed and are trying to get the measure defeated. If you're interested in supporting local agriculture (and if you're a Slow Foodie you probably are), you owe it to yourself to get smart on NAIS and actively oppose it.

Here are some good sources:

The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. Based in Austin, it's a leader in the fight against NAIS.
The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which is filing suit against the USDA to halt the implementation of NAIS.

The Farm Bill

Food is the basis of our economy, our culture and our society. Slow Food is aiming for a food system that is good, clean and fair. Farmers are at the heart of Slow Food. The Farm Bill that is currently being conferenced between the House and Senate is essential in providing for the future success of small and beginning farmers and the future of our food.

What are the big gains in the Farm Bill?
· $2 billion over 5 years for the Conservation Stewardship Program to assist farmers making a commitment with environmental outcomes

· Strong livestock reforms: providing steps to stop unfair contract practices between ranchers and meatpackers

· Mandatory funding for Sustainable Agriculture Coalition programs such as:
o $40 M for Organic Farming Research
o $30 M for Farmer’s Market Promotion programs
o $22 M for Organic Certification Cost-sharing programs

· Important Policy changes:
o “Sodsaver” provision to discourage cropping on native praire
o Reduced interest rate and better terms for beginning Farmer and Rancher loans
o Removal of barriers to organic farmers’ access to crop insurance

What’s missing in the Senate Bill?
o The Senate Bill does not go far enough in funding new farm and rural income opportunities
o It fails to fund “Value-Added Producer Grants
o It fails to fund “Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program”
o It failed to pass the Dorgan-Grassley payment limit amendment
(this amendment would have capped commodity payments)

What can we do?
o Read Food Fight by Dan Imhoff which explains the importance of the Farm Bill
o Write or contact your representative
o Make a difference through your buying choices; policy and legislation aren’t the only places to make a difference

Learn more about the Farm Bill through Slow Food resources on the Slow Food website