By Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON -U.S. Republicans continued on Wednesday a years-long effort to override a 2018 California law that bans the sale in the state of pork from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, arguing in a House Agriculture Committee hearing that the law is overly burdensome to farmers.
Proposition 12, which also sets housing standards for veal and eggs sold in the state, was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023 after a legal challenge by the pork industry.
President Donald Trump’s administration sued California on July 9 over the law’s provisions for chicken housing, arguing it has contributed to higher egg prices.
Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson has sought to limit the law’s scope to California farmers, excluding farmers from other states who sell pork into California, in the next farm bill. The bill is an omnibus funding package passed every five years, and which is two years overdue.
“The cost of compliance for small producers could actually push them out of the market altogether, leading to further consolidation in the industry,” Thompson said in Wednesday’s hearing.
The issue has divided the pork industry. Some hog farmers and pork companies oppose overturning the law, as they have already made investments to comply.
“There are thousands of farmers across the country who support and depend on commonsense bans against the cruel confinement of farm animals,” said Matt Bershadker, CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in a statement.
The average cost of retrofitting or rebuilding barns to meet Prop 12’s standards is about $3,500 to $4,500 per sow, according to a letter sent from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to Thompson on July 21 and released by the agriculture committee.
The average retail prices of pork cuts such as bacon and ham have risen about 1% since January 2024, when Prop 12 went into full effect, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in WashingtonEditing by Rod Nickel)
