NAIS 'won't happen' if not made mandatory

Special coverage from the National Conference on Animal Identification (ID INFO) in Kansas City, Mo., Aug. 25-27 For a meat procurement specialist like Kevin Bost, animal identification is an animal health issue but even more a food safety issue, and "a good idea" for the livestock and meat sectors. It also needs to be "a government-sponsored mandatory program," or it won't happen, he said in opening the final day of the conference. Bost, a meat procurement and risk management strategies consultant in Chicago, Ill., said there are two ways to effect change, either by economic incentives or government mandate. The first us normally the best means to effect change but won't work for NAIS, he said, explaining that there won't be enough economic incentive for cow/calf producers because consumers won't pay enough premium for the beef that they buy in retail stores for it to be channeled back to the packer/processor, feedlot and cow/calf producer to cover the producer's costs of participation. The consumer won't do that because "mainstream" customers shopping supermarkets are not concerned where their beef and other food come from due to "a fairly good appreciation of farmers" and confidence in farmer and government agency pronouncements that their food is safe...Feedstuffs