I did it! 50 thousand words in 30 days. The first ever novel about the fight against NAIS from the perspective of the activists. The end is totally fiction though.

I should think NaNoWriMo would be a great homeschooling project.

You might be interested in Script Frenzy, which they do in June challenges you to write a screen or stage play of 20,000 words in thirty days.

So, dear readers, a few days to rest up and I'll be back posting about all things NAIS and some of the other ridiculous measures USDA and FDA are taking to "protect" us from ourselves.

If you've been wondering where I've been because I haven't posted in some time, hey, I've been busying participating in the National Novel Writing Month - or NaNoWriMo, a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

Here's the link to my profile there as well as excerpts that I post from time to time.

As of this minute I've written 34,687 words and am woefully behind with just 7 days left. I should be writing right now!

My novel is autobiographical historical fiction based on truth (is that a genre?) about, heh, what else? The fight against National Animal Identification System. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Farm Bill Secrecy Provision Threatens Journalists

More about the Secrecy in the Farm Bill. I am so glad to see groups jumping on this.

Written on November 5, 2007 by Mich

From Tim Wheeler
President, Society of Environmental Journalists

Once again, it seems we have another pending federal action that could affect how we gather and report the news. Buried within the 2007 Farm Bill now before the Senate is a new exemption to the Freedom of Information Act, which is troubling enough, but the same provision also makes it a crime for anyone to disclose or “use” anything from the National Animal Identification System. The penalties can be severe, and in our reading of the bill it’s not at all clear that reporters or their employers can’t be prosecuted for publishing or broadcasting such information — some of which is already publicly available through other means.

Because agriculture and food safety are major issues for many journalists covering the environment, SEJ plans to send a letter to senators urging them to remove this provision from the Farm Bill. Other groups, notably OpentheGovernment.org, are writing senators as well, but we felt it important to speak as journalists without potential entanglements with other interest groups. The bill is scheduled for a floor debate and vote within days, so unfortunately there’s not a lot of time. I’m attaching a draft of our letter, which likely will get tweaked before sending. If you’d like to sign on, or want more info, please get back to me promptly.

E-mail Tim

Download the DRAFT Letter HERE (PDF)

I cannot stand by and watch our family farmer's suffer - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

I've been watching the Farm Bill speeches on CSPAN2 since 3 o'clock this afternoon. I am nauseous. Talk about men without a clue.

Harkin was going on about the small farmer and the benefits of the Farmer's Market money included in this bloated bill. He painted a lovely picture of a family farmer having a free range flock of hens to sell their eggs at the farmer's market. I called his office pretty quick and left a message about how, under NAIS, there won't be many small farmers left.

It's all about HOPE, they keep saying, hope for the farmers and in spite of the fact that they keep using the family farmer as their example, they really mean Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.

"They live out in the country alone; it's them against the odds," said Dorgan (D-ND). "If it isn't about the family farm, we wouldn't need this bill."

Cripes, they know nothing.

In the meantime, here's a good article about Secrecy in the Farm Bill, talking about the FOIA exemption.

Secrecy in Farm Bill

By Rebecca Carr | Monday, November 5, 2007, 02:50 PM

You might think that the massive farm bill now on the table has nothing to do with government secrecy, but it does.

OpenTheGovernment.org, an umbrella organization of conservative and liberal organizations, discovered a provision in the measure that would create an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act for all records related to the Agriculture Department’s animal identification system.

The National Animal Identification System tracks sick animals through the system, among other things. It includes cows with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow,” disease.

Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org, is lobbying against the provision because it would “create an unnecessary bar” to finding out about the condition of animals in the nation’s food supply and how they are handled in the system.

“With food safety concerns on the rise, it doesn’t make sense that the public can’t find out if an animal is sick,” McDermott said.

Read the rest of it here. And leave a comment, please.

For everyone who is against NAIS - You must act now

Action Needed on Animal ID!!!

Last week, the Senate Agricultural Committee voted their version of the 2007 Farm Bill out of committee. It will be debated and voted on by the full Senate next week (Nov. 5th-Nov. 9th). The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is an issue of major concern to family farmers and rural communities and must be addressed on the Senate floor.

Please Call Today!!

Please call Senators McCaskill and Harkin on Animal ID this week! [Besides calling Harkin and McCaskill you also need to call your own Senator. You can look that up here. Look to the left side bar and enter your zip code. - Henwhisperer]

National Animal Identification System (NAIS):

In the Senate Agriculture Committee Farm Bill, Senator Harkin (IA) included Section 10305, which defines NAIS and provides exceptions from public disclosure for information collected under NAIS. Unfortunately, this section defines NAIS as any system for identifying or tracing animals that is established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Section 10305 gives legitimacy to a program that has never been authorized by Congress and which the USDA has been proceeding with despite widespread resistance among family farmers and ranchers. Already, the USDA has been very underhanded in using existing disease programs and enrolling people in NAIS databases without their consent. This is one of the most important issues facing farmers today. Without your phone calls the NAIS section will pass with no debate.

Please Call!!

Senator Claire McCaskill (202) 224-6154: ask for Nichole Distefano

Senator Tom Harkin (202) 224-3254: ask for John Ferrell

Message:

· Take Section 10305 out of the Farm Bill because it implies approval of USDA's implementation of NAIS. USDA has clearly shown that they will use underhanded, deceptive and unethical practices in order to force farmers into the program.

· Section 10305 also provides false reassurance that the information in the databases will be confidential, when experience has shown that information in databases is vulnerable to both hackers and marketing misuse.

· Tell Senator McCaskill that we need a REAL debate about Animal ID in the Senate.

* NAIS will drive independent ranches and farms in the US out of business.

· NAIS creates an undue economic burden on producers, does not include identification of imported meats, does nothing to increase consumer choice or confidence and expands packers’ ability to unfairly discriminate against independent family farmers.

· Missouri’s Family Farmers believe it is extremely important to ensure consumer confidence in the safety and health of the U.S. food supply while at the same time ensuring the economic viability of independent livestock producers. However, NAIS does not meet the needs of producers or consumers.

Your Call Can Make the Difference between Congressional Approval of NAIS and a True Debate about the Negative Impacts of this Program!

For more information contact the Missouri Rural Crisis Center @ (573) 449-1336. If you aren't in Missouri and want more information leave a comment on this blog and I will answer you. Be sure to leave your email address.