Top 10 Reasons Against Mandatory Animal ID
10. Liability Problem. With traceback in place meat packing companies with an array of corporate lawyers could easily argue for a misplaced liability back along the line to the producer.
9. No Clear Congressional Directive. Currently all animal i.d. efforts are moving forward under directives of the USDA. No specific Congressional action has been taken that has been subjected to public debate on the issue of animal i.d.
8. Information Not Passed to the Consumer. In contrast to country of origin labeling legislation, animal i.d. information will stop at the meatpacker. It will not be used to inform the consumer where their meat came from.
7. No Economic Benefit with Mandatory ID. Basic economics tells us that if all cattle are tagged and tracked then there will be no premium for source verified cattle.
6. No Government Sanctioned Monopoly Wanted. One proposal for a national animal i.d. database is for a privately operated consortium to run the database. That consortium would be a monopoly sanctioned by the government.
5. Freedom of Association. If a single private consortium controls a national animal i.d. database, then those who choose not to associate with the consortium would be disenfranchised. They would not be free to disassociate with the consortium if they wanted to have a say in its operation.
4. No Cost/Benefit Analysis. Too many questions remain unanswered as to actual costs and real benefits.
3. States' Rights. Tracking animal movements is a state job. We don't need any more federal government intrusion in our industry than is necessary.
2. It's Not Necessary. The USDA has failed to prove that existing state programs can never adequately serve the herd health and disease tracking goals that are proper for the U.S. cattle industry.
1. It Doesn't Work. The USDA has not proven that a mandatory animal i.d. program will provide the results the agency says it will. Field tests have proven the many shortcomings of proposed systems.
10. Liability Problem. With traceback in place meat packing companies with an array of corporate lawyers could easily argue for a misplaced liability back along the line to the producer.
9. No Clear Congressional Directive. Currently all animal i.d. efforts are moving forward under directives of the USDA. No specific Congressional action has been taken that has been subjected to public debate on the issue of animal i.d.
8. Information Not Passed to the Consumer. In contrast to country of origin labeling legislation, animal i.d. information will stop at the meatpacker. It will not be used to inform the consumer where their meat came from.
7. No Economic Benefit with Mandatory ID. Basic economics tells us that if all cattle are tagged and tracked then there will be no premium for source verified cattle.
6. No Government Sanctioned Monopoly Wanted. One proposal for a national animal i.d. database is for a privately operated consortium to run the database. That consortium would be a monopoly sanctioned by the government.
5. Freedom of Association. If a single private consortium controls a national animal i.d. database, then those who choose not to associate with the consortium would be disenfranchised. They would not be free to disassociate with the consortium if they wanted to have a say in its operation.
4. No Cost/Benefit Analysis. Too many questions remain unanswered as to actual costs and real benefits.
3. States' Rights. Tracking animal movements is a state job. We don't need any more federal government intrusion in our industry than is necessary.
2. It's Not Necessary. The USDA has failed to prove that existing state programs can never adequately serve the herd health and disease tracking goals that are proper for the U.S. cattle industry.
1. It Doesn't Work. The USDA has not proven that a mandatory animal i.d. program will provide the results the agency says it will. Field tests have proven the many shortcomings of proposed systems.