Massachusetts State Law Delay Keeps Breakfast on the Table
WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 11, 2022 — New Englanders can breathe a sigh of relief after a United States federal court judge for the District of Massachusetts today signed a court order…
Animal welfare and maintaining consumer access to high-quality, affordable pork are top priorities for America’s pig farmers.
NPPC strongly opposes California Proposition 12 because:
California voters in 2018 approved Proposition 12, a ballot measure that prohibits the sale of pork, eggs, and veal not produced according to the state’s arbitrary production standards. These standards were developed without input from hog farmers, veterinarians, animal care, food safety, and pork production experts. California was nearly three years behind developing its regulations to implement Prop 12, resulting in the Sacramento Superior Court issuing an injunction on its enforcement for at least 180 days after final regulations are issued.
California has nearly 40 million residents, representing approximately 15 percent of the U.S. pork market. Proposition 12 will dramatically reduce the pork supply for Californians and raise prices that will disproportionately affect low-income households.
Despite being such a large consumer market for pork, California has essentially no pork production and is dependent on farms located far outside its borders to feed its residents. Proposition 12 was designed to force hog farmers in other states and countries who want to sell pork into the populous California market to retrofit existing barns or design new housing systems.
According to a University of Minnesota study, the conversion of sow barns to group pens would cost between $1.9 billion and more than $3.2 billion. With California’s mandate to also eliminate the use of breeding stalls will also contribute to significant increases of industry costs.
Proposition 12, as written:
As it relates to the use of individual pens, NPPC supports the position taken by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, which recognize both individual pens and group housing systems as appropriate for providing for the well-being of sows during pregnancy. In fact, the key factor that most affects animal well-being is husbandry skills – that is, the care given to each animal.
There is no scientific consensus on the best way to house gestating sows because each type of housing system has inherent advantages and disadvantages.
November 2018: California voters passed the Proposition 12 which imposes arbitrary minimum requirements on farmers to provide more space for egg laying hens, breeding sows, and calves raised for veal.
December 2018: NPPC and American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) filed a legal challenge to Proposition 12, asking the court to strike it as invalid under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
January 2022: A state superior court granted a delay in the effective date of Prop. 12 for 180 days after final implementing regulations are issued. California has not issued final regulations, nearly 3 years after the deadline.
March 2022: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the legal challenge filed by NPPC/AFBF against California Proposition 12. Arguments will take place in the fall of 2022, with a decision expected in early 2023.
June 2022: NPPC/AFBF filed a joint brief arguing Proposition 12 violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, which restricts states from regulating commerce outside their borders.
July 2022: Amicus Briefs filed in support of the NPPC/AFBF case to review California Prop 12. The Biden administration, international trading partners and business groups representing the full scope of the U.S. economy filed amicus briefs in support of the National Pork Producers Council’s case.
September 2022: NPPC/AFBF file SCOTUS Reply Brief to Petitioners. The same day, California’s Department of Food and Agriculture announced it finally completed the Proposition 12 implementation rules (over three years after the original statutory deadline).
October 11, 2022: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments.
of domestic U.S. pork sales are to California
are the estimated costs for converting sow barns to group pens, according to a University of Minnesota study. Because of the way pork is processed, it would be difficult to separate meat based on various farms’ production practices, impacting the entire supply chain.
is the cost that farmers will need invest and pass onto consumers at a time of record-high inflation. That means a producer owner operating a 4,000 sow farm will need to invest approximately $14 million to be compliant.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 11, 2022 — New Englanders can breathe a sigh of relief after a United States federal court judge for the District of Massachusetts today signed a court order…
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 21, 2022 — The Biden administration, international trading partners and business groups representing the full scope of the U.S. economy, among others, filed amicus briefs in support…
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2022 – The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of California’s…
March 28, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar. 28, 2022 – The U.S. Supreme Court at its Mar. 25 conference agreed to hear a case brought by the National Pork Producers…
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 22, 2021 – Following approval by the Massachusetts Legislature, Gov. Charlie Baker today signed into law a compromise measure delaying until Aug. 15, 2022, implementation of the state’s…
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 27, 2021 – The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation today petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take their case against California’s Proposition 12, which…
From: Real Clear Policy, September 23, 2022 by Thomas Titus
On October 11th at the Supreme Court, America’s pork farmers will stand trial.
The formal question…
WASHINGTON, December 6, 2019 – The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation have filed a legal challenge to California’s Proposition 12, which imposes animal housing standards…
From LAW 360 article by Daniel Kolkey
Does California have the legal authority to effectively regulate the national pork market, thereby forcing a restructuring of an entire U.S. industry…