This is a letter written by Sid Sargent, my mother.

The national animal ID system is coming

As a small farmer, you may not be able to afford the costs. You will be required to have a computer to report every movement, birth and death of every animal on your farm.....can you afford this? You will be required to microchip your animals for whatever the USDA decides to charge. up to $100 per animal if need be. Chickens will also be chipped. The chips could cost more than a chicken is worth. Even fertile eggs will be monitored.

Fines for non-compliance could put you out of business in a single day. In the case of a suspected disease your herd could be depopulated at any time. If you depend upon the meat for your family's survival. How will you feed your family? The government will bill you for the slaughtering of your own herd. You will not be able to have your animals tested for disease. But you will have to accept the verdict of the government which will not be liable. You will not be compensated.

Thousands of farmers abroad have been wiped out by depopulation agendas for suspected diseases. Some have committed suicide. Americans never hear about these incidents. These agendas are promoted by the USDA throughout the world. Americans will not be exempt. The National Animal ID System will endanger the food supply. It will eliminate small farmers. It will drive up the cost of food. It will force us to buy imported foods. It will favor factory farming and corporate agri-biz. It will debilitate the buy local and organic food movements and destroy rural economies.

THE NATIONAL ANIMAL ID SYSTEM IS COMING. CITY PEOPLE REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT. THE MEDIA REFUSES TO REPORT ON IT.

The USDA is manipulating the city people with misleading information about disease and keeping Americans safe from bioterrorism. Our politicians have already been bought and paid for. They refuse to help us. We are alone in the struggle.

What can we do about this????? We can get ready in what ever ways we can. We can store a year's worth of food while we can still afford to buy it. We can save seeds. We can plant gardens. We can get to know a farmer and support he or she in whatever ways we can. We can buy locally as long as it is still legal. We can all get a few chickens and spread the animals out. If one farm gets depopulated another may survive. We can learn how to live simply. Make compost heaps. We can refuse to eat factory-farmed meats. We can eat beans (if we are lucky). We can learn to conserve and to share with our neighbors. We can eat weeds. We can spread the word. We can educate ourselves. We can survive.

The National Animal ID System is unconstitutional. It is an invasion of our rights to be secure in our property. It is a violation of our religious rights. It is un-American. We refuse to bow down to oppression. Farmers will survive with God's help.... Have faith and do the right thing...stand up for America and the TRUTH

love, Sid

WHY I AM AGAINST THE NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

The rules are being written to favor large agri-business, and they unfairly burden and blame small farmers for problems that are created by commercial farming practices. Small farms are important to the function of local economies, and although in many cases they may only supply a small percentage of the market, they represent an important high quality alternative to long-haul food. Also, smaller scale local food production creates a safety net in case of commercial problems like contamination or delivery interruptions. In the case of very small farms, even ones just aiming for self sufficiency, the reduced burden on the commercial food system helps lower demand, therefore reducing cost for urban people.

Not to mention the aesthetic qualities that well kept small farms add to the landscape.

But one thing that corporate-run government agencies will never understand is that we small farmers really love our animals. Their presence, their "personalities," if you will, give life to the farm.We take pride in the beauty and health of our animals! And even though we occasionally eat them, even their deaths are dignified and respectful (and delicious!).

EXHIBIT B: Will not show up in a photo. It is a heavy, acrid smell of burning feathers and flesh that permeates our neighborhood at least once a week, usually after dark. The source is a crude "incinerator" out behind the large laying house of some commercial growers who live nearby. In commercial operations, it is not unusual to lose up to 20% of the birds in a given flock. Growers used to throw them in pits, but there are regulations against that now, so they "burn" them. Smoulder might be a more fitting term. To us, it is shocking that such losses are accepted as routine. In 8 or 9 years of raising chickens, we have never lost a single one to disease. We have had one hen die from old age, we lost a couple chicks to a 'possum, a black snake got off with a few, and some stray dogs killed three this summer. Our chickens roost in an unheated house in winter. The point is that healthy chickens are tough, and for up to 20% to be dropping dead demonstrates the poor health and comprimised immune systems of the commercial flocks.

The National Animal Identification System will do absolutely nothing to address any of these real health concerns, and it will place burdensome regulations exactly where they are needed the least. The commercial operations are the ones who should be concerned with traceability, and yet, they are the ones who will get breaks in the regulations (1 number for 10,000 chickens, no chips in individual chickens). For example, even with the fully implemented animal ID system, the chicken we found on the side of the road would be untraceable. And yet, every one of our healthy chickens who never go anywhere would be required to have a microchip.

This grotesque imbalance and unfairness suggests to me that the true motivations for these regulations are about profit and elimination of competition for the commercial growers. Even though the commercial growers have the lion's share of the market, they are looking at the small farmer as the only thing standing in the way of total control of the market, and with the relentless pressure from shareholders and multi billionaire CEO's they are working to change the rules in their favor.

Another scary aspect of these rules CIRCLES of DEATH

To find out more Go to the Arkansas Animal Producer's Association Website by clicking here
http://arkansasanimalproducers.8k.com

For more information go to http://www.nonais.org

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