We will have our next COVID-19 Discussion Group Meeting Monday, October 12, 2020 at 2:00 PM.

Same location as last time.  If you didn’t attend last time, contact me and I will send you directions.

https://www.westonaprice.org/protect-small-farms-and-stop-electronic-id/

The USDA is yet again pushing a mandatory electronic Animal ID program that is likely to drive small farmers out of business, in order to benefit the big agribusinesses.

By issuing its latest plan for mandatory electronic ID without going through the normal rulemaking process, USDA has avoided doing a cost-benefit analysis. But we have a real-world example of what happens with mandatory electronic ID. One state, Michigan, has required electronic ID for cattle since 2007.

So let’s assess the costs by looking at the impact of the program. Every 5 years, the USDA does an agricultural census, and 2007 was a census year. So, what happened with Michigan cattle farms between 2007 and 2012, as compared with the rest of the country?

• Michigan saw a 3% decrease in the number of very small cattle operations (fewer than 10 head), even though nationally the number of such farms increased by 4%.
• Both Michigan and the entire country saw similar decreases in the number of small to mid-size farms.
• Michigan saw a 16% increase in the number of large cattle farms (500 to 999 cows), while nationally the number only increased 7%.
• Michigan saw a 35% increase in the number of very large cattle farms (over 1,000 head), even though the number of those operations decreased slightly nationally.
• Michigan saw a 50% increase in the number of cattle on those large farms, even though the number of cattle in large operations stayed basically steady nationally.

It’s clear that the electronic ID program hurts small farms and helps big ones, just as we predicted. Now we need to stop the rest of the country from going down the same road as Michigan.

The ID tags themselves are only a few dollars each – but that’s 20 to 30 times as much as the current metal tags. With millions of cattle in this country, that adds up quickly! And then there’s the cost of the readers and other infrastructure needed to move to an electronic system. Plus there’s labor and logistics – large operations have expensive chutes and equipment that make handling their animals easier and quicker. It’s not as simple as bar code readers in a grocery store … think about how close you have to get the cereal box to the reader, and then think about trying to do that with 1,000 pound animals, some with sharp horns!

You still have until October 5 to tell USDA that you object to its plan to mandate electronic identification tags for cattle that cross state lines. And, remember, since many state animal ID programs are connected to the federal one, in practical terms, many farmers will be forced to use these Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) tags even for in-state movements, making it an even greater problem for small farmers.

TAKE ACTION

You can submit comments to USDA online at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/07/06/2020-14463/use-of-radio-frequency-identification-tags-as-official-identification-in-cattle-and-bison

Tell USDA that you oppose its proposal, and urge the agency to continue approving non-electronic forms of official identification for cattle.

Given USDA’s improperly close relationship with the meatpackers and technology companies, getting the agency to change its mind will be difficult. So also send your comments to your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them to stop USDA from spending taxpayer dollars on this bad program.

Email: You can look up who represents you and send a message online at https://fiscalnote.com/find-your-legislator.

Calls: You can look up your U.S. Representative at www.house.gov and your Senators at www.senate.gov, or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to their offices

Additional talking points: Your comments to USDA can be very brief, even just 2 or 3 sentences. The important thing is to submit something so that there’s a record of the opposition to this terrible proposal!

• If you are a cattle producer, talk about the difficulties that electronic ID would pose for you – both the tags and the system as a whole (the readers, etc). Do you sell at a livestock auction that isn’t equipped to handle everything electronically? Or does your vet not have the equipment and a laptop to enter electronic data? Point out the impacts on you and the businesses that are vital for your farm/ranch.
• If you are a consumer, write a little about why this matters to you (you buy meat from local producers, you don’t want small farmers having to pay more for a program that benefits the large exporters, or whatever it is).

Thank you for taking action on this important issue!

MORE INFORMATION

Mandatory electronic Animal ID is expensive, intrusive, and unreliable. The plan benefits two groups: the large meatpacking corporations, and the technology companies that produce the electronic tags, readers, and software.

USDA and the meatpackers argue that traceability is about addressing animal disease and food safety. But it’s really about furthering corporate control of the meat industry by creating yet more regulations that promote international trade for the big meatpackers, are cheap for large-scale operations, and burden family farmers.

The vast majority of food-borne illnesses in meat are the result of practices at the slaughterhouse and afterwards in the processing and handling. We have seen millions of pounds of meat recalled due to unsanitary conditions and a lack of proper oversight at huge slaughterhouses. But the animal ID program ends at the slaughterhouse door — RFID tags on cattle won’t do anything to increase food safety.

Nor will RFID tags make our animals healthier. USDA continues to allow imports of livestock from countries with known disease problems. In fact, this electronic ID plan is primarily designed to maximize corporate profits by promoting exports and imports of animals and meat – further increasing the risk of introducing and spreading diseases.

If USDA wanted to address food safety and animal disease, it would increase oversight and testing at the large meat processing plants; and stop boxed meat and live cattle imports from countries with known disease problems. These two steps would do far more to promote a safe, secure food supply than sticking RFID tags in cows’ ears.

We already have Animal ID requirements that provide for low-tech forms of ID. Traditional metal ear tags cost about 10 cents each, and the USDA provides them to farmers for free. They work and they are cost-effective. In contrast, the agency estimates the cost to farmers for RFID tags will be $2-$2.60 per head. That doesn’t seem like much, but that translates to sales for the tag manufacturers of tens of millions of dollars each year. The people pushing electronic ID have not provided a scientific basis for replacing the existing ID programs with one that is significantly more expensive and intrusive.

Hi all,

I took most of July off from Weston Price volunteer stuff.  Did anyone miss me?

This month marks my 13 year anniversary of writing this newsletter, and I have to say, this one has been the hardest ever to write (partly why you didn’t get one last month). These are not the subjects I want to be talking about. I look forward to when we can return to our roots, discussing fermented foods, raw milk and fat soluble activators. But right now it feels important to discuss other issues. One of these issues is censorship.

My mom sent me a link to this video.  Now I can’t watch it.  YouTube censors videos with which they don’t agree.

In case you weren’t aware, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Constant Contact, and other web and social media platforms are now actively censoring their content. Videos, posts and web pages that share alternate views that contradict the mainstream position are being removed. Deleted. Gone.

Videos that I wanted to watch have disappeared

YouTube sites their “community guidelines” as justification.  Mainstream medicine has been ridiculing and marginalizing natural health treatments and practitioners for years.  They have campaigned against homeopathy, chiropractic and natural cancer therapies.  Now big data companies have resorted to new lows by removing videos on a variety of health topics that go against the mainstream narrative.  The Weston A. Price Foundation podcast has been censored by Google.

COVID-19 Conversations have become Politicized

I am very annoyed (to put it mildly) that conversations about COVID-19 have become so politicized. This is not about politics. It is about health and the right to choose for yourself. This video is an interview with a Google whistleblower who describes his experience of discovering Google’s manipulation of information, and their efforts to stop him from making his findings public.

I hesitated to share it because it shows that Google had political motivations for some of their censorship. I want to make it clear that The Weston A Price Foundation does NOT take sides on political issues. We’re are a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and we welcome people of all political and religious faiths. Like I said, this issue is not about politics, it is about freedom to listen to all opinions on the issues and make your own decisions.

Google Whistleblower Tells All

“Google Whistleblower Tells All”: https://thehighwire.com/videos/google-whistleblower-tells-all/

“Google Whistleblower Tells All” has been removed from YouTube but is miraculously still available on Facebook.

Dissenting voices must always be protected

This is why the First Amendment exists. Censorship is wrong, no matter who is doing it. Web and social media platforms that are participating in censorship are undermining our right to freedom of speech and attempting to rewrite history.

Although I see a lot of examples of stupidity, I believe that Americans are still intelligent enough to listen to opposing viewpoints and make decisions for themselves.  I hope you agree.  That is why we will be holding a COVID-19 Discussion Group this month to discuss the difficult questions surrounding COVID-19.

In preparation for the discussion group meeting you might want to read Lockdown Lunacy, which was sent to us by a local participant.  He says: “Lockdown Lunacy— The Thinking Person’s Guide to an Imaginary War” puts it all together in a clear, linear, scientific way.  You might also want to watch the Censored WAPF Podcast Episodes.  Take a look and decide for yourself.

Upcoming Events:

• August 18: Immune Support 101 (online)
• August 18: How to Build Natural Immunity with Sally Fallon Morell (online)
• August 21: Sourdough Basics (online $20)
• August 31: COVID-19 Discussion Group (In-person)

Also in this issue:

• Censored WAPF Podcast Episodes
• Lockdown Lunacy
• Wise Traditions Conference Discount for 20 yr olds and younger
• August 24: Wise Conversations for WAPF Members

This is an invitation to members of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  Remember, you do not have to be a member of the Foundation in order to participate in local Eugene Chapter events, but we encourage you to join and take advantage of some of the special members only events!

See: Why Join

INVITATION TO WISE CONVERSATIONS IV

When: Apr 29, 2020 at 1:00 PM Pacific Time

We will be addressing the topic of vaccines with our guest will be Kendall Nelson, director/producer of The Greater Good (https://greatergoodmovie.org/) and WAPF consultant for vaccine-work

You may send questions to us for Kendall to address during the meeting until April 22. Please send questions to wiseconversations@westonaprice.org or post them on our members-only Facebook group.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/upIrdu2vqTIu35gc2b6AzFp9XfGaNoeAXQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.