Iowa, Minnesota pork growers attack California’s Prop 12

If the U.S. Supreme Court Does Not Intervene, Pork Farmers Could Have California ‘Inspectors’ Knocking at Their Doors.

From an article in Farm Futures by Gary Baise, Protect The Harvest Advisory Committee Member

Iowa is the largest hog producing state in the United States. Minnesota, with 9 million pigs, is the second-largest hog producing state. Therefore, these two states now advise the U.S. Supreme Court on California’s Proposition 12, a rule going into effect Jan. 1, 2022 that bans the sale of pork in California unless the sow from which it was derived was housed with space allowances that almost no U.S. farms satisfy.

Californians account for 13% of the nation’s pork consumption yet import 99.87% of pork consumed.

Proposition 12 will require pork producers located in Iowa, Minnesota and elsewhere to subject themselves to California’s inspectors, who will come to each state to determine that the sows have enough room based on California’s arbitrary standards.

‘Catastrophic’

“The effects of this law will be catastrophic and threaten our Nation’s supply of safe and wholesome pork.” This quote comes from the brief which tells the U.S. Supreme Court about California’s Proposition 12 and its impact. The brief, written by a friend, Eldon McAfee, should educate the Supreme Court that California’s Proposition 12 is nuts.

The law has been tested and upheld in lower courts for several years.