In a Stately Manner

Today was jammed full of everything you should want in an action movie. I saw helicopters, M-16's and motorcycles, and that was just on the 3 block walk home.

Tonight I helped at a reception for the Jefferson Islands Club, and yes, there actually is an island. Former members include August Busch (of Anheuser-Busch),President Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt. I would guesstimate that a bipartisan 10% of the House of Representatives and Senate checked into the reception, along with many corporate sponsors. They served oysters, mini-sandwiches, fruit and brownies.

The earlier part of the day was busy as well. In the morning Gabe and I did the daily routines, and I completed a renewable fuels definitions page for Mr. Holden, the new Chairman of the Agriculture Committee's subcommittee on Energy (along with other things). The Agriculture Committee held their Organizational Meeting.

After the meeting, Gabe and I attended an eye-opening meeting with a handful of top people from the USDA. We talked about Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I learned that COOL was already in place for fish and shellfish. Right now, the biggest thing that people do not understand is that current legislation places all responsibility on the retailers alone. If nothing is done this session as far as COOL legislation, the law will be enforced in September 2008, even if the USDA does not have time to set up the process to allow it not to be a burden for retailers and producers alike. We must realize that beginning COOL is a two-year process when it comes to beef (because of the time from birth to butcher), and variable lengths for other species. I talk about beef because I understand it best, but without a label at birth, there is no way a retailer will know what country it is from when it reaches the store.

Another thing about COOL, is that it was put in the Farm Bill please consumers of 2002, and not as much for safety reasons. It is so a soccer-mom from the suburbs can go to the store and see that her 98% fat free beef is 100% American. It also something that is now inevitable, as we have come too far. It will not be included with convenience and restaurant foods, and the vast majority of meat affected will be in your larger supermarkets. One thing to point out is that COOL is intended for fruits and vegetables as well, but is much easier to implement as most fruit is stickered already.

NAIS is something that is usually that goes hand it hand with COOL. NAIS is also something that is coming, but the resistance is much higher. NAIS is also for safety, and the quelling of fear. Currently, about 25% of the nation has their premises registered. The goal is for any disease outbreak, emergency disease, or foreign outbreak that would occur, the USDA is able to pinpoint where the food/animal came from as quickly as possible. With all things in the USDA, privacy is up to the holder. The USDA will have 24/7 access to records, but not even your neighbors will find out. If there is a disease on your premises, of course your neighbors will be tested. But the USDA never once gave out the names of the producers in any of the BT, BSE, or other animal disease cases. They found that even if they would have liked to make the location and person public, the producer usually does it first. The neighbors have usually been called before the USDA gets there. The main USDA spokesperson said the data was at the utmost security. Although he did not say it, I believe you could compare it to the privacy placed on taxes and social security numbers at the federal level.

With all the different technologies and programs NAIS uses, and with more being added each year, costs are shrinking. Unfortunately, so is trust. As time passes, producers agree less with NAIS than they did when NAIS was first introduced. Animal ID is something I need to be well researched on, as I will be attending many hearings in the upcoming months, and I was told the hearings will be useless if I do not know all of the acronym's the speakers are using.

After watching the State of the Union, I know tomorrow will bring many phone calls. Each mention of renewable fuels brings more attention to the Agriculture Committee. While most of the press is good, much of it is the same question, something we do not know the answer to, or something too obvious to give an answer without laughing.

To close, I just want everyone understand how diverse the Washington, D.C. culture is. The following is an excerpt from the reception:
"Ya'll have an accent," then he looked at my last name on my nametag, "Oh, ya'll are from Sweden? Cool!"