The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case against California’s Proposition 12 filed by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
California’s Proposition 12 seeks to ban the sale of pork from hogs that don’t meet the state’s new production standards, even if the pork was raised on farms outside of California. Any whole pork meat from hogs born of sows not housed in conformity with the law cannot be sold in the state of California, regardless of whether the animal was raised in-state or out-of-state.
“AFBF is pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to consider the constitutionality of California’s law imposing arbitrary requirements on farmers well outside its borders. We share California’s goal of ensuring animals are well cared for, but Prop 12 fails to advance that goal,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “We look forward to presenting the facts to the Court, including how Prop 12 hamstrings farmers’ efforts to provide a safe environment for their animals, while harming small family farms and raising pork prices across the country. One state’s misguided law should not dictate farming practices for an entire nation.”
The law’s effective date was delayed until July, according to an order issued in January by a California judge.
AFBF and NPPC noted Prop 12 has far-reaching consequences and could potentially “drive smaller hog farmers out of business and undermine the overall global competitiveness of the U.S. pork industry.”
NPPC has fought against the ballot initiative since it was approved in November 2018, arguing at the U.S. district and appellate court levels that Prop. 12 violates the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which grants Congress the power to regulate trade among the states and limits the ability of states to regulate commerce outside their borders.
“We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of Proposition 12, in which California seeks to impose regulations targeting farming practices outside its borders that would stifle interstate and international commerce,” NPPC President Terry Wolters said.