NAIS—We Must Do More
by Judith McGeary

The new chairs of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have stated interest in holding hearings about NAIS, which will give us the opportunity to present information to Congress about the impacts on small farmers, homesteaders, other animal owners, and consumers. So writing your Congressman is a good first step. And because USDA is paying state agencies to implement NAIS, you should also write your state legislators asking them to stop NAIS at the state level.

Multiply your effectiveness by helping build a bigger grassroots movement. Organize a local meeting and bring in a speaker. Put stacks of flyers at feed stores and auction barns. Hand copies of this article and other information about NAIS to your neighbors. You can download materials and information from Liberty Ark Coalition and Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.

Officials in the government and industry have spent more than a decade developing plans for NAIS. The grassroots movement opposing it just started gaining momentum. Most Americans still haven’t heard about it. We have a long way to go to stop NAIS.

Judith McGeary is an attorney in Austin, Texas, and the executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, an organization representing independent farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and homesteaders. This article appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.