The U.S. Supreme Court on May 11, 2023, chose to uphold Proposition 12, a California law allowing the state to block pork sales from out-of-state producers if they don’t abide by specific regulations.
Hannah Thompson-Weeman, the CEO of Animal Agriculture Alliance in Arlington, VA, said the Supreme Court upheld Proposition 12 in California, challenged by several animal agriculture organizations led by the National Pork Producers Council and American Farm Bureau Federation.
“It was voters in one state passing legislation to affect farmers in another state, an issue with the Interstate Commerce Clause.”
The lower courts had upheld Proposition 12, and the organizations took the ruling to the Supreme Court and heard the case earlier this year. On May 11, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) affirmed the judgment of the lower Court and an unsuccessful challenge, and Proposition 12 will stand.
Scott Hays, NPPC president and Missouri pork producer, said the decision is disappointing. “Allowing state overreach will increase consumer prices and drive small farms out of business, leading to more consolidation. We are still evaluating the Court’s full opinion to understand all the implications,” said Hays.
“There was surprise amongst the animal ag community when this decision came out, raising many questions moving forward,” said Thompson-Weeman.
While the many challenges delayed the implementation of Prop 12, it now goes into effect on July 1.
“We have to see what happens between now and July 1 with enforcement and implementation,” she said. “The tone of surprise and disappointment by animal agriculture in stark contrast to the animal rights extremists heralding it as a victory.”
The Animal Agriculture Alliance CEO said the bigger picture of SCOTUS upholding this ruling revives the Animal Activists’ engine even more.
“It’s also about a flurry of other pieces of legislation that we will see because the use of ballot initiatives has been a primary tactic of animal rights extremist organizations for years because they’re going straight to the voters,” she said. “They’re circumventing the typical legislative process and putting up over-simplified questions about animal welfare.”
Because the public often doesn’t know much about animal agriculture, they’re making it a very emotional issue, with headlines calling this the Humane Pork Law. While claiming this is an improvement for animal welfare, the animal rights groups say it’s about reducing efficiency and driving up costs.
This ruling should be a warning call to animal agriculture because many people were pinning hopes on SCOTUS striking down Prop 12 in this challenge, which would be very helpful in challenging other similar pieces of legislation.
“But it’s not a new call to action that we’re giving, but if you have not seen these legislative issues pop up in your state or province, you are lucky. They will be there sometime in the future.”
Ag animal groups and organizations should educate legislators and the public about their production practices, why and how they keep animal health and welfare in mind, and “what we do and why we do it.”
Certain segments of the animal agriculture community are thinking, well, this is affecting pork. It won’t affect others.
“It doesn’t affect me. It’s pork today, but others will be down the line.”
She said, “the legislation is popping up in states that target all species that define a minimum life span before processing. That would redefine certain animal husbandry practices like artificial insemination.”
Proposition 12 is a California ballot measure passed by voters in November 2018. It establishes new standards for the confinement of farm animals, including pigs, cows, and chickens. These standards will not only affect the production of those animals in California, but all processed products coming from out of state will require the same production standards. •
— By Harry Siemens