Hinson, Iowa pork producers want Congress to intervene on a California 'bacon ban’

Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson plans to reintroduce legislation to overturn California's animal welfare law that mandates more housing space for pigs in order for their pork to be sold in that state.

Opponents say the law, which was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, will drive up prices and devastate Iowa pork producers.

Hinson told reporters Friday she will reintroduced the Exposing Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. The Republican-backed bill, introduced in 2021, failed to pass in the previous Congress.

The bill, which is being led in the Senate by Kansas Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, would prohibit state and local governments from imposing standards on the production or manufacture of agricultural goods sold over state lines.

“States like California are beginning to impose non-tariff barriers to interstate commerce” that will raise the price of food, Hinson told reporters Friday. “I see it as a bacon ban. It threatens every aspect of our food supply. It increases production costs for our farmers. It’ll drive up the cost of food at a time when we’re already seeing huge inflation in the food space.”

How does California’s law affect Iowa farmers?

The California ballot initiative passed by voters lays out minimum housing requirements for egg-laying hens, calves raised for veal and breeding pigs.

Proposition 12 bans the sale of pork in California from the offspring of pigs without at least 24 square feet of space and the ability to stand up and turn around in their pens.

Many hog farmers in Iowa, the nation’s top pork producing state, raise their pigs in facilities that don’t meet the standards of the California law.

The Supreme Court last week denied a challenge from national farm groups that said it violated the Constitution's prohibition on states restricting interstate commerce.

The groups estimated that the cost of compliance with Proposition 12 will increase production costs and will fall on both California and out-of-state producers. But, because California imports almost all the pork it consumes, most of Proposition 12’s compliance costs will be borne by out-of-state firms.

California produces about 1 percent of U.S. pork supplies, but consume about 13 percent to 14 percent.

In his majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch said California voters have a right to regulate products sold within the state’s borders, but also noted Congress has the authority to overturn those regulations.

“Companies that choose to sell products in various States must normally comply with the laws of those various States,” Gorsuch wrote.

The court also rejected the farm groups’ claim that the benefits of Proposition 12 to California residents do not outweigh the burden the law places on pork producers to comply.

Proponents say the law protects animal welfare and benefits consumer health, by avoiding contamination from “packing animals in tiny, filthy cages” that “increases the risk of food poisoning.”

Iowa pork producers say pigs’ health and safety is a ‘top priority’

Hinson and Iowa Pork Producers Association President Trish Cook, a Buchanan County pig farmer, said Iowa pork producers use evidence-based care practices that are best for their animals.

“A top priority is the health and safety of our pigs,” Cook said. “We strive to do our best every day, with animal care always in mind.”

Cook called the 24-foot minimum requirement “arbitrary” and "not science-based.“

“These guidelines did not come from the American Association of Swine Veterinarians or the American Vet Med Association,” she said. “Special interest groups who have the goal of a meat-free society, who don’t know the first thing about farming and raising pigs, shouldn’t be telling me how to do my job. We love our animals. We would not be raising pigs if we didn’t.”

Cook said the California law will hurt small- and medium-sized family farms in Iowa the most.

“At a time when we’re losing money on each pig going to market, we’re not interested in a large capital expenditure to convert our farm to Prop 12-compliant sow housing,” she said.

Hinson said there is some bipartisan interest in her bill and a sense of urgency in Congress in light of the Supreme Court ruling for “preserving interstate commerce and an affordable and safe food supply.”

Cook said the court’s ruling has the potential of “opening the floodgate for onerous standards to be set state by state.”

“Consumers that are already food insecure, low-income in California are ultimately going to be the ones that suffer due to higher prices for … bacon on their table,” she said. “And pork is a nutritious and economical protein source.”

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