Save Our Bacon Act is the same old sob story

This fall, over 200 farmers visited Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress on an issue that will likely figure prominently in the next farm bill — whether states can enact laws that provide a lifeline for small family farmers who endeavor to prioritize the welfare of animals in their care.

Passed in 2018, California’s Prop 12 set minimum space requirements for breeding pigs, laying hens, and veal calves; it also prohibits the sale of pork, eggs, and veal within the state that do not meet those standards.

In 2023, the Supreme Court upheld Prop 12 in National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) v. Ross. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch noted “states … have long enacted laws aimed at protecting animal welfare” and the industry “would have us prevent a State from regulating the sale of an ordinary consumer good within its own borders on non-discriminatory terms” (meaning Prop 12’s restrictions apply to both instate and out-of-state producers). In June 2025, the Supreme Court declined to hear the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s case against Prop 12.

Despite these outcomes, special interests within the pork industry have pushed for a legislative “fix” to undo Prop 12. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) reintroduced legislation — euphemistically titled the Food Security and Farm Protection Act (S. 1326) and the Save Our Bacon Act (H.R. 4673) — that would restrict states’ abilities to enact minimum livestock confinement standards.

These Iowa connections are not a coincidence; Iowa is the top pork-producing state. But whether the interests of the NPPC or similar entities should dictate nationwide federal policy is a different question — especially when the direct result is voiding state laws and blocking states from establishing their own standards concerning agricultural practices.

Republicans and Democrats alike have been sounding the alarm about SOB and prior iterations for years, but the debate seems to be coming to a head. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has been aggressively pushing for a farm bill to come together; he has also made clear that he opposes Prop 12.

Yet, as the Supreme Court noted in its 2023 ruling, nearly a third of the U.S. pork industry has already converted to group housing for pregnant pigs. Producers can and do adhere to what are essentially modest space requirements for the animals on their operations. The sole beneficiaries of SOB are the largest pork producers — think Smithfield Foods, which was acquired by China’s WH Group for $4.72 billion in 2013 and now controls more than a quarter of pork production in the United States.

The farmers who came to Capitol Hill stressed that this cause transcends party lines, and expressed their desire to see their farms and businesses continue for the next generation. The SOB Act would move America backward and undercut the very family farmers whom so many regard as the backbone of our agricultural economy.

Joanna Grossman, PhD, is the Animal Welfare Institute’s equine program director and senior policy adviser for the farmed animal program.