Falls Church, Virginia, (May 15, 2008) — Attorneys
for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund today sent a Notice of
Intent to Sue letter to the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) over
implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a
plan to electronically track every livestock animal in the country.

The
Notice asks the USDA and MDA to “immediately suspend the funding and
implementation of NAIS,” and “fully and fairly examine” whether there
is even a need for such a program.

Taaron Meikle,
Fund president, said that contrary to USDA’s claim, NAIS will do
nothing to protect the health of livestock and poultry. “At a time when
food safety and costs are a concern, the USDA has spent over $118
million to promote a program that will burden everyone from pleasure
horse owners to ranchers and small farmers to individuals who raise a
few chickens or steers on their own land for their own use.”

Once
fully implemented, the NAIS program would require every person who owns
even one livestock or poultry animal (a single chicken or a pet pony)
to register their property with the state and federal government, to
tag each animal, and to report “events” to a database within 24 hours.
Reportable events would include such things as a private sale, a state
fair, or a horse show.

The Notice charges that USDA
has never published rules regarding NAIS, in violation of the Federal
Administrative Procedures Act; has never performed an Environmental
Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment as required by the
National Environmental Policy Act; is in violation of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act that requires them to analyze proposed rules for their
impact on small entities and local governments; and violates religious
freedoms guaranteed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

“We
also think there are constitutional issues at stake here,” Meikle
noted. “The requirement to use electronic ear tags or RFID chips
violates the religious beliefs of some farmers, such as the Amish, and
provisions in a memorandum of understanding between the USDA and the
MDA could violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution
by requiring the state to stop and inspect vehicles carrying livestock
without a warrant or probable cause.”

The MDA has
implemented the first two stages of NAIS –property registration and
animal identification – for all cattle and farmers across the state as
part of its mandatory bovine tuberculosis disease control program,
which is mandated by a grant from the USDA.

“While
touted as a disease control program, the NAIS will drive many small
farmers out of business” Meikle noted, “and burden every person who
owns even one horse, chicken, cow, goat, sheep, pig, llama, alpaca, or
other livestock animal with expensive and intrusive government
regulations.”

Joe Golimbieski, a farmer from
Standish, Michigan and Fund member, explains: “The cost of the tags is
just the start. We’re at the mercy of whatever price the stockyards
charge to do the tagging. And our farm doesn’t have extra employees to
deal with paperwork. NAIS is likely to put us out of business.”

Gary
Cox, General Counsel for the Fund, states that “USDA and MDA have
exceeded their authority and they have completely failed to follow the
proper procedures. We are calling on the agencies to immediately halt
implementation of the program or face appropriate action.”

About
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: The Fund’s mission is to
defend the freedoms and to broaden the rights of sustainable farmers
and their consumers to produce and consume local, nutrient-dense foods.
Concerned citizens can support the Fund by joining at www.farmtoconsumer.org or by contacting the Fund at 703-208-FARM. The Fund’s sister organization, the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation (www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org), works to support farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and promote consumer access to local, nutrient-dense food.

Editor’s Note: The Notice of Intent to Sue the (USDA) and (MDA) is available at www.farmtoconsumer.org

###

Contacts:

Taaron G. Meikle
President, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and Farm-to-Consumer Foundation
703-537-8372
tgmeikle@aol.com

Brian Cummings
Cummings & Company LLC
214-295-7463
brian@cummingspr.com

The Press Release
Excerpts from the Notice of Intent to Sue
Notice of Intent to Sue

Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
Exhibit D
Exhibit E
Exhibit F
Exhibit G
Exhibit H
Exhibit I
Exhibit J
Exhibit K
Exhibit L
Exhibit M
Exhibit N
Exhibit O
Exhibit P
Exhibit Q
Exhibit R
Exhibit S
Exhibit T
Exhibit U

To learn more about NAIS and our lawsuit, attend the teleseminar –  

Stop NAIS NOW!
May 28, 2008
8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. 
$15/phone line
Click here to learn more.