Private Database and NAIS

<a href="http://www.farmandranchguide.com/articles/2006/01/30/ag_news/updates/update01.txt"><acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym> abandons private database concept for <acronym title="National Animal Identification System">NAIS</acronym></a><br />n<br />n<blockquote><acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym>, after hearing strong opposition from the industry, has abandoned its earlier decision to allow a single private entity to manage the livestock movement database in connection with the National Animal Identification System (<acronym title="National Animal Identification System">NAIS</acronym>).<br />n<br />nBut that wasn't the only major announcement from the agency concerning <acronym title="National Animal Identification System">NAIS</acronym>:<br />n<br />nThe agency's <acronym title="National Animal Identification System">NAIS</acronym> coordinator, Neil Hammerchmidt, told last week's meeting of R-CALF USA that there won't be a mandatory ID program by 2009, as previously announced.<br />n<br />nAnd, he said, <acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym> attorneys are researching whether they have the legal authority to require producers to report livestock movement to a private entity.</blockquote><br />n<br />nThis sure looks to me like a bunch of Government speak. I will attempt to decipher it.<br />n<br />n"Since people don't like the idea of a private database we will just have the government keep the database and announce that there will be no mandatory program reporting to a private database. This will lull all the opposition to this program, like R-CALF, into thinking it won't be mandatory program down the line in 2009."<br />n<br />nYes, all they are saying is that they won't have a mandatory program that reports to a private database, not that there won't be a program. We need to keep up the pressure on this issue to stop the <acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym> from handing over production of all our food to the big corporations and factory farms who support the <acronym title="National Animal Identification System">NAIS</acronym> system. Remember, no ear tag ever stopped a disease.<br />n<br />n<b>Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. Milton Friedman</b>