Three recent victories against a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) prove that our efforts to stop this insidious plan are paying off. One battle at a time, we are winning our war against NAIS.

Victory in Pennsylvania
Anti-NAIS forces won a victory in Pennsylvania in July 2007. A coalition filed an action against premises registration on behalf of James Landis, a Mennonite muscovy duck farmer in Lebanon County. The action was filed by attorney Leonard G. Brown of the firm Clymer & Musser, PC, of Lancaster, who is connected with the Alliance Defense Fund. Attorney Mary Zanoni of Canton, New York, was of counsel.

James had participated voluntarily in Pennsylvania’s avian influenza monitoring program. Like many farmers across the country, he was informed he had to accept an NAIS-compliant registration number for his farm property (also known as premises registration). He refused, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) attempted to force him to comply.

The two bases for the suit were religious discrimination and the argument that the PDA did not have authority. The PDA relented, agreeing James does not have to register his property. Although it’s impossible to know exactly why the PDA gave in, its authority was on tenuous ground— in 2006 Pennsylvania’s legislature rejected a statute establishing premises registration.

Victory in Idaho
A persistent couple in Idaho own the first property known to have been removed from the NAIS database. After completing what they thought was a brand registration renewal, Calvin and Carol Whittaker received a letter from the Idaho Department of Agriculture (IDA) informing them their ranch had been registered in the NAIS.

The outraged couple got to work immediately. The first time Carol asked the IDA to remove their property from the database, the IDA said they couldn’t. The Whittakers then sought assistance from the Liberty Ark Coalition (LAC).

On behalf of the Whittakers, the LAC asked USDA why—if the program is voluntary—people can’t have their properties removed. After considerable pressure, USDA officials agreed to establish, and publicize, an opt-out program. Armed with this information, the Whittakers sought and finally received official notice that their property has been removed from the database.

Victory in Congress
Collin Peterson, Chair of the United States House of Representatives’ Agriculture Committee, tried to breath life into NAIS under the Farm Bill, but anti-NAIS activists won instead. Current law states that NAIS may not be used to establish country of original labeling (COOL).

COOL would encourage Americans to buy American food products, but establishing NAIS would wipe out a lot of America’s independent farmers. Had Peterson won, Americans would think they were helping us small farmers by buying American food, but instead would be assisting Big Ag.

Thousands of anti-NAIS activists hammered home their message of no NAIS by phone, fax, and email this June. The final House Farm Bill added goat to beef, pork, and lamb as the meats that will be labeled under COOL. But NAIS will not be a tool to implement COOL. Keep up the pressure!

Karin Bergener of Ravenna, Ohio, is an attorney and co-founder of Liberty Ark Coalition. This article appeared in the Autumn 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.