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Local Meat Sources and the National Animal ID System (NAIS)

Just found this scary post by Leslie Berliant at Sustainablog, discussing the National Animal ID System (NAIS), a group ostensibly created to curb thecow2 outbreak of diseases. Quoting David E. Gumpert and William Pentland writing for The Nation, Leslie Berliant writes:

Critics contend NAIS will be the death knell for small farmers, some religious minorities and organic agriculture generally in America. Although the program will amplify American agriculture’s influence in global markets, it will give commercial agriculture an unprecedented monopoly on the future of food–a brave new era of synthetic agriculture and genetically engineered animals.

Gumpert and Pentland go on to say that:

NAIS allows large factory farms whose animals spend their entire lives in feedlots to register large groups of animals as a single unit, but farms whose animals are not confined must register animals individually. As a result, most small farms could pay as much as $20 or $30 per animal to comply with NAIS, compared with $1 to $2 per animal for large farms.

This clearly spells trouble for the little guy, who may not be able to afford registering every single animal. Go to Sustainablog for more information, or go directly to La Vida Locavore to let them know what you think.