August, 31 2011, 12:56pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Judith McGeary, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, 512-484-8821
Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA, 406-252-2516
Gilles Stockton, Western Organization of Resource Councils, 406-366-4463
Mark Kastel, The Cornucopia Institute, 608-625-2042
Dust Flying in Countryside over USDA Animal ID Proposal
Farmers and Ranchers Appeal to Vilsack for Adequate Time to Respond
WASHINGTON
Forty-nine advocacy groups representing the interests of family farmers, ranchers, and consumers have formally requested that USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack extend the public comment period for a controversial new proposal that would require livestock producers in the U.S. to incur significant expense tracking animals that cross state lines. The comment period on the proposed, "Traceability for Livestock Moving Interstate," is scheduled to end on November 9, and the organizations have requested an additional 60 days.
"The period for public comment coincides with the fall harvest and comes during the worst drought ever recorded in some major livestock production regions," said Judith McGeary, Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance and vice-chair of the USDA Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health. "Our farmers and ranchers are struggling to get their crops in and save their animals, and they need more time to assess the impacts of the proposed rule."
The groups' letter to Secretary Vilsack pointed out that many farmers and ranchers are not online, slowing the speed of communication. "According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, more than 40% of farms do not have internet access," they noted in the letter.
"We have a significant number of Amish and Mennonite members who can only be contacted by mail or through print publications," explained Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute. "They, in turn, will have to mail their comments to USDA. If the agency actually wants to hear from these livestock owners, it needs to extend the comment period."
Some groups have questioned the agency's willingness to respond to producers' concerns.
"A coalition of cattle groups presented USDA with a reasonable plan for cattle identification, but the agency persists in proposing unworkable rules," contends R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "The least the agency can do is extend the comment period so that the cattlemen can comment on the proposal when they're not in the middle of the calf-weaning and shipping seasons."
The proposal has raised concerns about the economic impacts on both livestock producers and related businesses.
Gilles Stockton, a member of the Western Organization of Resource Councils said, "It will take a significant amount of time to pencil out the true costs of this proposal. Livestock producers, sale barns, and states deserve adequate time to figure these costs and give comment."
"All of our farmers and ranchers are deeply concerned about animal health," concluded McGeary. "They work hard every day to keep their animals healthy, and the agency needs to take the time to understand their concerns about this new proposal and address them."
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The following groups signed the letter: American Agriculture Movement, American Grassfed Association, Ashtabula-Lake-Geauga Counties of Ohio Farmers Union, Buckeye Quality Beef Association, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Cattle Producers of Washington, Citizens for Private Property Rights (MO), Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association, Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias, The Cornucopia Institute, Dakota Resource Council (ND), Dakota Rural Action (SD), Empire State Family Farm Alliance (NY), Family Farm Defenders, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Food and Water Watch, Freedom21, Idaho Rural Council, Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, International Texas Longhorn Association, Kansas Cattlemen's Association, Land Loss Prevention Project, Mississippi Livestock Markets Association, Missouri Farmers Union, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, National Association of Farm Animal Welfare, National Family Farm Coalition, National Farmers Organization, Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Association, North Country Sustainability Center (MA), Northern Plains Resource Council (MT), Oglala Sioux Livestock and Landowners Association, Organic Consumers Association, Organization for Competitive Markets, Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens (PA), Powder River Basin Resource Council (WY), R-CALF USA, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Rural Coalition/ Coalicion Rural, Rural Vermont, Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (VT), Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, Sovereignty International, Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, Western Organization of Resource Councils, and Weston A. Price Foundation
The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm policy research group, is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Their Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food it produces are made in the pursuit of profit.
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Amnesty Urges War Crimes Probe of 'Indiscriminate' Israeli Attacks on Lebanon
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Amnesty International on Thursday called for a war crimes investigation into recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon that killed dozens of civilians, as well as a suspension of arms transfers to Israel as it attacks Gaza, the West Bank, and Syria.
In a briefing paper titled The Sky Rained Missiles, Amnesty "documented four illustrative cases in which unlawful Israeli strikes killed at least 49 civilians" in Lebanon in September and October amid an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign of invasion and bombardment that Lebanese officials say has killed or wounded more than 20,000 people.
"Amnesty International found that Israeli forces unlawfully struck residential buildings in the village of al-Ain in northern Bekaa on September 29, the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon on October 14, and in Baalbeck city on October 21," the rights group said. "Israeli forces also unlawfully attacked the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on October 16."
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty's senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, said in a statement that "these four attacks are emblematic of Israel's shocking disregard for civilian lives in Lebanon and their willingness to flout international law."
The September 29 attack "destroyed the house of the Syrian al-Shaar family, killing all nine members of the family who were sleeping inside," the report states.
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On October 16, Israel bombed the Nabatieh municipal complex, killing Mayor Ahmad Khalil and 10 other people.
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In the deadliest single strike detailed in the Amnesty report, IDF bombardment believed to be targeting a suspected Hezbollah member killed 23 civilians forcibly displaced from southern Lebanon in Aitou on October 14.
"The youngest casualty was Aline, a 5-month-old baby who was flung from the house into a pickup truck nearby and was found by rescue workers the day after the strike," Amnesty said.
Survivor Jinane Hijazi told Amnesty: "I've lost everything; my entire family, my parents, my siblings, my daughter. I wish I had died that day too."
As the report notes:
A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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The October 21 strike destroyed a building housing 13 members of the Othman family, killing two women and four children and wounding seven others.
"My son woke me up; he was thirsty and wanted to drink. I gave him water and he went back to sleep, hugging his brother," survivor Fatima Drai—who lost her two sons Hassan, 5, and Hussein, 3, in the attack—told Amnesty.
"When he hugged his brother, I smiled and thought, I'll tell his father how our son is when he comes back," she added. "I went to pray, and then everything around me exploded. A gas canister exploded, burning my feet, and within seconds, it consumed my kids' room."
Guevara Rosas said: "These attacks must be investigated as war crimes. The Lebanese government must urgently call for a special session at the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism into the alleged violations and crimes committed by all parties in this conflict. It must also grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on Lebanese territory."
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful airstrikes in Gaza and past wars in Lebanon taking a devastating toll on civilians."
Last month, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's 433-day Gaza onslaught, which has left more than 162,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in the embattled enclave.
The tribunal also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes committed during and after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and over 240 others were kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice is weighing a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel. Last week, Amnesty published a report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
The United States—which provides Israel with tens of billions of dollars in military aid and diplomatic cover—has also been accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon.
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful airstrikes in Gaza and past wars in Lebanon taking a devastating toll on civilians," Guevara Rosas said. "The latest evidence of unlawful air strikes during Israel's most recent offensive in Lebanon underscores the urgent need for all states, especially the United States, to suspend arms transfers to Israel due to the risk they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law."
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There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and Trump—who is set to be sworn in next month—has even suggested he would deport children who are American citizens with their parents who are not and attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
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In addition to reducing home care labor, Trump's deportation plan would specifically harm seniors by reducing money for key government benefits that only serve U.S. citizens. The report references estimates that it "would cut $23 billion in funds for Social Security and $6 billion from Medicare each year because these workers would no longer pay into these programs."
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Along with laying out the economic toll of Trump's promised deportations, the JEC report makes the case that "providing a pathway to citizenship is good economics. Immigrants are helping meet labor demand while also demonstrating that more legal pathways to working in the United States are needed to meet this demand."
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"The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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