Pat Showalter
Biography:
Pat Showalter is a teacher/farmer/artist now turned advocate for small farmers, hobby farmers, and small livestock owners across the country, in opposition to the National Animal Identification System. In studying the documents and talking to those who are promoting the program, she has come to realize what a draconian plan NAIS truly is. Her farm is located in western Washington state. Presently she tends an historic breeding herd of Kinder goats (including 12 new kids, 44 total), and a few ducks and chickens. As president of the Kinder Goat Breeders Association, she works to keep the membership apprised of current news in agriculture -- and all are facing the biggest challenge yet with the appearance of NAIS.
Past Shows:
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| Wednesday March 15, 2006 |
Consumer privacy expert Katherine Albrecht, joined by activists Pat Showalter and Celeste Bishop in hour two, spoke out against the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a USDA plan to track farm animals using RFID chips. Showalter and Bishop, who both own animals in a small scale, non-commercial capacity, said the new regulations are very burdensome for small farmers. For instance, the "Premises Identification" part of the plan requires owners to report any movements or visitors of the animals, even in the case of a few chickens and goats. The cost and time for such monitoring is prohibitive and also an invasion of their privacy, they argued. Technology is being used to clamp down and control food in general, said Albrecht, who compared the NAIS plan to the tracking done with grocery loyalty cards, and the efforts to restrict farmers' rights to seeds. In regards to the NAIS, she hoped that small farmers will refuse to comply with the plan, as she believes it does nothing t
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Host: George Noory
