Wise Traditions

Radio Frequency ID (or RFID) has been presented as something of a modern-day branding system, allowing for the identification of cattle and other livestock on farms across the U.S. That sounds benign enough…until you realize that RFID is actually a livestock surveillance system that poses a threat to our farmers’ rights to raise their animals without government interference and may impinge on the free market relationship between farmers and consumers. John Moody, co-founder of the Rogue Food conferences, explains today exactly what’s at stake when it comes to legislation in the works for RFID (radio frequency ID). He starts with reviewing the history of legislators attempting to regulate how farmers manage livestock. He goes over the implications of RFID’s gathering data on the location of livestock as well as accessing their vaccination schedule and more. And the ways in which this slants the market in favor of bug-based food. He also explains why consumers should be concerned since even a private buying agr