| Most food would be organic and non-GMO, | | | | homesteading magazine. NAIS is a system |
| and much more food would be locally | | | | in the planning stages by the National |
| grown, rather than imported and trucked | | | | Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), |
| thousands of miles – those things tend | | | | made up of the big corporate players in |
| to be important to vegetarians. | | | | U.S. meat production (the National Pork |
| Processed food would be reduced, because | | | | Producers, Monsanto, Cargill, etc), and |
| optimum vegetarian nutrition comes from | | | | the makers and marketers of high-tech |
| whole foods in their natural state, and | | | | animal ID equipment. |
| most vegetarians are interested in a | | | | Any person owning even one agricultural |
| healthy diet. So, much of the energy | | | | animal, like a horse, cow, chicken or |
| that goes into producing, packaging, | | | | duck would have to register in a federal |
| warehousing and transporting processed | | | | database, and report any time the animal |
| food would be saved. | | | | left the owner's property. The expense |
| Vegetables and grains need much less | | | | of registering, reporting etc, as well |
| land and water than animals, so it | | | | as the GPS tracking, would be born by |
| wouldn't be necessary to destroy rain | | | | the animal owners. NAIS would be |
| forests or irrigate arid land, or create | | | | enforced through seizure and fines. |
| deserts with over pasturing. Perhaps | | | | This system would make it difficult and |
| just enough animals could be raised to | | | | expensive for people who raise their own |
| satisfy the ovo-lacto vegetarians, and | | | | animals for food, or for small local |
| those few people who haven't quite made | | | | producers to continue, and strike a |
| the vegetarian transition, but even they | | | | heavy blow not only at sustainable |
| would consume far less meat, for the | | | | agriculture and local organic |
| sake of their health. | | | | production, but at individual freedom as |
| This idea isn't necessarily obvious to | | | | well. As the article points out, it will |
| sustainable ag experts, mainly because | | | | also be completely ineffective in |
| they aren't vegetarian, and can't | | | | controlling disease and infection in the |
| picture agriculture without lots of | | | | food supply. |
| animals. They are reluctant to be | | | | There's a movement afoot, spearheaded by |
| associated with what they regard as a | | | | the National Cattlemen's Beef |
| fringe group of cranks, eccentrics and | | | | Association, to 'privatize' the |
| wierdos. In other words, they can't | | | | database, which means they would have |
| think outside their meat-eating box. | | | | complete access to all the information, |
| Some Interesting Examples | | | | and control over enforcement. Since this |
| 1. CAFO's: | | | | system is too big and widespread to be |
| A couple of months ago, I attended a | | | | effectively enforced, they would most |
| community meeting, held to organize | | | | likely just practice selective |
| opposition to CAFO's (contained animal | | | | enforcement, through fines and seizure, |
| feeding operations, or hog lots) in SE | | | | against anyone they wanted to drive out |
| Iowa – a serious environmental | | | | of business. |
| threat). One of the speakers stated that | | | | This scheme goes right along with |
| while he was against having a CAFO | | | | Monsanto's practice of suing farmers for |
| anywhere near his country property, of | | | | patent violation when their GMO seed |
| course he himself didn't intend to stop | | | | propagates uninvited on the farmer's |
| eating pork. The audience was polite – | | | | land. NAIS is quite disturbing to anyone |
| they didn't boo him off the stage! | | | | who values individual freedom. For me, |
| 2. The Ties That Blind | | | | as an ovo-lacto vegetarian, after this |
| John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus, U MO, | | | | system goes into effect, I'll no longer |
| highly respected and passionate | | | | be able to buy free-range organic eggs |
| sustainability expert, wrote Meeting the | | | | from my neighbor, whose chickens are |
| Challenge of Peak Oil with Sustainable | | | | family pets. And our local organic |
| Agriculture. In his article, Prof Ikerd | | | | dairy, with its blissful pampered jersey |
| states: 'Shifting to a vegetarian diet | | | | cows, could be driven out of business. |
| would be one obvious means of reducing | | | | The Amish, who have a separate social |
| energy use in agriculture, since most | | | | and economic system, would also be |
| food crops are net energy producers – | | | | seriously affected. |
| possibly cutting the food energy input | | | | What will NAIS do to vegetarian |
| output ratio in half. However, (and | | | | sustainable agriculture? Not a lot, |
| here's where he lost me) processing and | | | | except that there won't be as much |
| distribution would still leave about a | | | | organic manure available. And animal |
| five-to-one net fossil energy deficit | | | | manure isn't strictly necessary to |
| for total food production. In addition, | | | | organic growing – all you really need |
| the 20% fossil fuel equivalent produced | | | | are lots of green manure and worms. |
| by pasture and forage plants – large | | | | Since growing vegetables and grains |
| net energy producers – would be lost.' | | | | doesn't require animals, it could be |
| | | | quite tempting for small meat producers |
| I can see that processing and | | | | to focus instead on raising grains and |
| distribution would still be a problem, | | | | vegetables, and herbs. There are quite a |
| unless there was no processing, and the | | | | few high demand organic crops with which |
| food was distributed locally. And I | | | | small farmers do well. And the scarcity |
| don't see what the 20% fossil fuel | | | | of organic free range and pastured |
| equivalent produced by pasture and | | | | animal foods will mean that more health |
| forage plants has to do with being | | | | conscious and environmentally aware |
| vegetarian. If you didn't have the | | | | people will turn to vegetarianism. And |
| animals to pasture and forage in the | | | | that local organic production will |
| first place, there would be 100% fossil | | | | continue to grow and thrive, as demand |
| fuel equivalent, not 20%. Apart from | | | | for vegetarian foods increases |
| that lapse in logic, attributable to the | | | | exponentially. |
| meat-eating bias, I recommend this | | | | Ms. Zanoni doesn't mention those |
| article and all of John Ikerd's other | | | | possibilities, as the silver lining in |
| writing, available on his website | | | | this black ugly cloud, and the way that |
| 3. NAIS: | | | | NAIS will backfire on these nefarious |
| Another article, by Mary Zanoni, Ph.D., | | | | schemers. But never mind – the less |
| Cornell University, 'The "National | | | | they know about it the better! Of |
| Animal Indentification System (NAIS)": A | | | | course, if we're forced to go back to |
| new threat to rural freedom?' appeared | | | | horse powered farm machinery, that could |
| in Countryside & Small Stock Journal, a | | | | be a problem. |