Letters to the editor

Radio Fido
I was very happy to see the article by Sheila Pell about the proposed NAIS system in the “Government News” section of your May 16 issue.
    The Department of Homeland Security has joined with the USDA to try to create a way to protect consumers from diseases like “Mad Cow Disease” and Avian Flu. This program was conceived, and is being promoted, by several large agribusiness giants, including Monsanto, Cargill and ADM.
    While their intentions may or may not be honorable, the National Animal Identification System cannot possibly work.
    If you own a pet, this program requires you to register your home with a seven-digit ID number keyed into a federal GPS database. Every one of your animals must be microchipped with a 15 digit Radio Frequency number that is also keyed into this federal GPS database.
    You will have to take your animals to a vet to have the microchips implanted. You will have to pay for this. Every time you put Rover in your car to take a drive to the park, you must notify the government within 24 hours. If you fail to do so, you will be fined $1,000 a day.
    If you hop on your horse and venture off your own property, you must inform Uncle Sam. Trips to the vet? You bet.How about those three laying hens out in your backyard? Yes, of course. What if a deer wanders into your yard during the night? You had better notify Big Brother, or you may end up in the pokey.
    The NAIS will effectively eliminate all small farms in our nation. We will become virtually dependent on agribusiness giants for every morsel of food we put into our baby’s mouths. I sure hope we can depend on them to provide us with plenty of wholesome, pure and affordable food!
    As Sheila noted in her article, the primary reason the NAIS will not protect us from disease, is because disease outbreaks occur in overcrowded, unnatural, factory-scale farms.
    Do you want to find out if your food is safe to eat?
Check out these websites:
    www.organicconsumers.org;
    www.libertyark.net;
    farmandranchfreedom.org;
    www.acresusa.com.