Capital Update – For the Week Ending November 11, 2022
NPPC Weighs in on APHIS New Approach to Livestock Indemnity
What happened? On Nov. 7, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) submitted comments to the Federal Register…
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Animal welfare and consumer access to high-quality and affordable pork are top priorities for America’s hog farmers. NPPC strongly opposes Massachusetts Question 3 because:
Question 3 (Q3) was a 2016 Massachusetts ballot initiative that sought to ban the sale of pork from hogs born to sows housed in individual pens. Q3 is similar to California Proposition 12, a 2018 ballot measure that bans the sale of pork in California from pigs that are born to sows housed in individual pens and not not provided a minimum of 24 square feet of space (compared with current industry averages of 18–20 square feet per sow). Importantly, Question 3 It also prohibits the use of individual breeding pens, that allow sows to receive individualized attention and care as they recover after delivering and nursing piglets and protects them from other aggressive sows seeking to fight.
In June, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources released final rules implementing Q3. An FAQ Guidance Document was unveiled on July 11th and caused major concerns concerning the state’s determination of the implementation date and its impact on shipments of pork transiting through Massachusetts to other states. These problems immediately jeopardized pork sales in Massachusetts and neighboring New England states.
On August 3, a coalition led by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), with the National Restaurant Association, and several New England restaurant and hospitality associations filed suit seeking to stop the law’s impeding implementation. The suit also asks the court to find the law unconstitutional.
On August 10, The Massachusetts Attorney General’s (AG) Office and the coalition working on this case (NPPC and the restaurant associations) came to an agreement that Q3’s rules prohibiting sales of non-compliant pork should be stayed until thirty days after the Supreme Court of the United States issues a ruling in the lawsuit by NPPC and American Farm Bureau Federation challenging California’s Proposition 12.
produces almost no pork.
will lead to greater concentration in the U.S. pork industry and the loss of individual family farms.
Converting hog barns to Massachusetts-compliant ones will cost millions of dollars per farm, far beyond the budget of the family farm businesses that make up the bulk of U.S. pork producers.
Question 3 will mean significantly higher pork prices at the grocery store and fewer consumers who can afford this high-quality protein.
NPPC Weighs in on APHIS New Approach to Livestock Indemnity
What happened? On Nov. 7, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) submitted comments to the Federal Register…
Mexican President Issues Decree to Fight Food Prices
What happened? On Oct. 19, Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador published a decree titled the Package Against Inflation and Famine with…