NAIS site and more

My understanding is that the national Farm Bureau has been in favor of NAIS for quite some time.

@dominiquer60 6666 wrote:

Perhaps the National has been for it but individual states like NY are against NAIS.

Agreed, but who do you think will have a more prominent voice at the national discussion table?

Some state Farm Bureau’s are for it, some against it.

I was just commenting on Jen’s comment about the Farm Bureau article.

I worked for some years as a support cientist in both beef cattle nutrition and meat science. It has been pretty well documented that THE #1 issue w/ food safety is improper handling and preparation by the consumer. Unfortunately, the govt. can’t regulate how citizens handle food so go after the producers.

I don’t know if it’s still being considered but there was a movement to feed large doses of Vitamin E just before slaughter (antioxidant should increase shelf life….). The result was meat that stayed red longer (looked good) but had oxidized lipids and bacterial loads similar to the no Vit E group. Bottom line – it takes away the one thing the consumer had to determine whether the meat was “fresh” (color). I know they put the packaged and sell by dates on but those were going to be extended if Vit E was used.

Sorry about the diversion but it just came to mind.

Originally, I had a problem making a comment on the NAIS proposal – it wouldn’t open up. Maybe I am more computer challenged than you Bio Woodsman.:o You can read other comments and see who some of the supporters are (some of the groups stand to benefit by making themselves more important). In fact, the Animal Science Department at our nearby land grant school has graduate student(s) working on “how to get producers to accept NAIS”. They have some ideas about getting carcass data back to the producer since presumably they’ll know which carcasses came from which producers all the way back down the line.

NAIS is a terrible idea and threat to us all. However there is another movement by the USDA which will really threaten farmers. In the guise of food safety USDA (in conjunction with large agri-business in California developed socalled Good Agriculture Practices or GAP. They use a score sheet for each farm and according to Russell Libby of MOFGA no farm in Maine would make the grade. One provision is no livestock within a mile of the market garden or food crop. Farmers in Cal. Are cutting down all hedge rows, using posion in farm ponds in order to reduce the likely hood of salmonella getting into the leafy greens. All the while large feed lot operations operate up stream. Not much logic in that, eh?
In one of my other lifes I did a lot of food safety work and know that this will not address the problem, only help the largest farms look good.
Recently I heard (have not seen) that Hannaford Super Markets have sent a leter to supliers that they will have to meat the USDA GAP’s. It this is the case, we will see very little local food in the big markets. Maybe not a bad idea.
There are some alternative ideas being considered but unless we get a public outcry the big guys will rule.
Jim Ostergard