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  • From: bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] NAIS and the Amish
  • Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:24:30 -0800 (PST)

Lynda sent an email earlier showing how NAIS is being forced through the back
door via federal requirements for licensed veternarians. I had sent a
similar email a couple of weeks ago from another source. Now the Amish are
trying to fight the NAIS on religious grounds. I do not , presently, have
livestock; but, I know some of you do. I think NAIS is just more big gov't/
big corporation trying to number and track everything , evrywhere.
all of the time. They say it is voluntary now, even though vets must abide
by NAIS compliance instructions, when it becomes mandatory , soon, it will
not seem like a big deal, after many have been registered
"voulunatarily".......bobford


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US Dept of Agriculture rubbishes Amish anti-RFID push

'Buttons are proud and vain, not plain'


Amish farmers attempts to prevent RFID tags being used in cattle have been
attacked by the US Department of Agriculture on the grounds that it's not
mandatory, and therefore can't be considered a breach of religious rights.

The USDA has recommended the dismissal of the case, Wired reports, and points
out that the plan for tagging cattle is voluntary. Small farmers were
expected to be excluded, so, argues the submission (pdf), there can be no
imposition on the religious beliefs of the Amish.

There are seven named plaintiffs in the case (pdf), each of whom "believes
that God and the Bible authorize him with dominion over all animals on the
planet and prohibit him from taking the 'mark'". All except one: Andrew
Schneider apparently doesn't share these beliefs, but is still one of the
seven for reasons that aren't clear.

The Amish claim that despite their ability to opt out of the scheme its very
existence threatens their religious beliefs as it is part of an ongoing
attempt to number every living thing - they point out that the long term aim
of the project is 100 per cent participation, so what's voluntary now may
become mandatory in the future.

They also argue that tagging every farm animal for the sake of disease
control is pointless when the diseases are spread by wild animals that have
proved remarkably reluctant to be RFID tagged. The action is being taken at a
state level, against the Michigan authorities who are implementing the plan,
with the claim that the state is operating as a "puppet" of the USDA.

In response the USDA points out that farmers, including Amish ones, are
already using numbered metal studs to track animals and that their approach
is technology neutral: "The USDA encourages the use of RFID tags for
livestock, as recommended by the cattle working group, the USDA does not
require the use of such tags for animal identification."

Civil liberties are often eroded under the premise of being "optional",
leaving activists with less grounds for a fight once the impositions are
quietly made mandatory years later.

The UK government attempted to introduce ID cards that way, serving to
demonstrate what happens if no one takes on the "option". It's hard to see
how replacing a metal tag with a radio one can be a religious offence, but
the same could be said for most things proscribed by the various theological
creeds. ®


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/amish_rfid/







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