Traceability in a Sustainable World:

A look into the very real RFID agenda ensnaring the earth


Part 1: Introductions

Picture a future where your right to privacy is a thing of the past. Where your government, doctor, retail stores, your home, your neighbor, and you keep accurate details of every transaction you make, whom you associate with, the amount of every and any goods you use, where you worship, your impact on the planet, your impact on your community, and any other piece of data that can be recorded as it pertains to your life. Many of us have seen articles and books that advocate for just such a world. Many more of us have read opinion pieces, and heard rumors of plans for such societies. Most recently as the Healthcare debate was heating up here in the United States, a group promoting Congressman Ron Paul published an article on it's website claiming that such a system via microchipping had been written into the Healthcare Reform Bill. Is any of this true? If so, who's behind it? If so, how far has such an agenda spread? How close are we to implementation of such a systematic society? A short time ago, I asked Susanna, a research associate, to help me dig into these questions. What was found during our investigation will shock some, and will be hard to believe by others. In this article, and those that follow, I will attempt to answer all of these questions and many more. Our investigation will show that such an agenda not only exists, but is far more advanced than anyone had imagined. We will explore the history, funding, and implementation of the many arms of this agenda, as well as some that have taken hold under our noses while no one noticed. Over the course of this series of articles we will cover many subjects from U.S. Politics to Social Media, from international treaties to social services, from iPhones to Echelon. The full scope will take time to explore, and may take a few of these articles to become 100% clear to some. While others may begin to immediately see the bigger picture. As is suggested by the title of this part, this article is a introduction to the overall agenda. Here we will begin with the outline of the subject, which is global in nature. As I have found, one of the reasons this agenda went unnoticed is because many don't know what to look for and if they have seen it, it was not recognized for what it was. This is no fault of the average observer. There have been slick redefinitions of terms that have allowed this agenda to remain under the radar for as long as it has.


No place can this be better witnessed than within the constructs of a United Nations sanctioned not for profit organization called GS1. Before we get into the redefinitions we must first understand what GS1 says about itself, its duties, and who makes up the organization. According to GS1: "GS1 is a leading global organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across sectors. The GS1 system of standards is the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world. " http://www.gs1.org/

So in a nut shell GS1 is a organization that sets standards for supply chains internationally. This doesn't sound too bad does it? What though are the standards that GS1 wishes to have set? One of these is the GS1 Global Traceability Standard which requires everything produced for any use be tagged and identifiable via varying means, from bar-coding to RFID chipping. Among the Traceability Standard we also find that any machine used in production of materials must be identifiable in the same way. The same can be said for trucks, planes, or boats shipping the goods, crates which goods are packaged in, stores where the merchandise is sold, as well as any other aspect which influenced the production or sale of the product. The products range from cell phones, to fresh produce, to automobiles, to clothing, as well as anything else that can be produced or sold. In a normal world this is where a supply chain ends. However, in the GS1 dictionary, supply chain means from start of production to the end of a products life. This means they want continual information on the product long after you have purchased it. Another aspect that must be taken into account is the traceability standard that states the system must incorporate real time identification of parties, items, and events that have had a relationship with the product within its life. Did you catch that? Parties!!! According again to GS1 and their standards, parties refers to any individual involved in production, shipping, sales, or purchasing of a product. How was it GS1 proposed to identify things within the supply chain? Does GS1 have different systems in place to identify these parties? No they do not. GS1 proposes to identify YOU the same way they want to identify every other object, through RFID.


Now that we have established a desire by a group to do such a thing, one is left wondering is this fanciful talk or a viable threat? To answer this, let's look at who is working to implement GS1 standards. Driving forces for GS1 include North Atlantic Treaty Organization, World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, and World Customs Organization. Partners of GS1 include corporations influencing all walks of life including, Microsoft, Baxter, GM, IBM, Pfizer, Walmart, Google, and many many more. So many more that the odds are much better of you guessing who is on the list than who isn't. GS1 has branches in many of the countries which have agreed to implement their standards, these include India, Japan, China, Russia, the EU, and the United States. In the United States, GS1 has partnered with the US Chamber of Commerce, FDA, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and many others to see to the implementation within the US. In June 2009, the EU GS1 launched the Transatlantic Traceability Infrastructure (TTI) Project. This part of the project was designed to fast track RFID implementation across Europe. What has remained quiet is that TTIP is a collaborative agreement between the US and the EU to fast track implementation in both. The projects of GS1 take into account anyway someone may purchase a product. This includes a section on Ecommerce which by its own definitions would make the Internet of Things a reality. There are also provisions for ordering products over the phone, which we will explore in more depth in a upcoming article. Now that you have a basic understanding of GS1, you may ask how far out is full implementation? GS1 has available on its site implementation projections which are sobering. According to GS1, 2009 was to be the year of preparation. All products and pieces of infrastructure were to be developed and in place by the end of 2009. Again according to GS1, this goal was met ahead of schedule. GS1 also claims 2010 as the year full implementation and operation is to begin, and again GS1 is ahead of schedule. There are still a couple of sectors where work needs to be done for this to be achieved. One of these is the healthcare industry, is it a coincidence that the Healthcare Reform Bill would make the healthcare industry in compliance with GS1 standards? This subject we will be looking at in depth in a upcoming article. Now that you understand the part of this international organization in implementing a complete RFID infrastructure, we can now go forward in upcoming articles and look at pilot projects, funding, the politics behind the agenda, and much more.

This agenda is real, and its implementation will forever alter life as we know it. The provisions within GS1 cover all aspects of business. There are numerous connections to be made, which will take us from captains of industry, to US politicians, deep into the Green movement, to some of the richest men on the planet, to those that were bailed out due to their "bad practices". My upcoming articles will explore these connections and how we got here. While we slept, a trap has been set, one that will soon ensnare the earth. My goal with these articles is to educate those reading in such a way that you will recognize the agenda when you see it. Only then can you be able to educate others. I encourage questions and discussion and will do my best to answer any directed my way. Susanna is well educated on this subject as well, and I must convey a great deal of thankfulness for her help on this project. Without her this project would not be as full of information as it is. To all others who have sent me information or have expressed an interest in this agenda, I thank you as well and hope this first article has been educational. For the rest of you, stay tuned as we are just getting warmed up!