**Republicans Push to Overturn California Law Banning Pork from Confined Pigs**
In an ongoing saga straight out of the Wild West of politics, U.S. Republicans are saddling up to challenge a California law that has hog farmers squealing with frustration. The law, known as Proposition 12, ropes off the sale of pork from pigs corralled in cramped quarters, among other animal welfare provisions. Yeehaw, it’s a showdown at the House Agriculture Committee hearing!
Proposition 12, a trailblazing law that also lassoes housing standards for veal and eggs, has been standing tall since the Supreme Court wrangled with a legal challenge in 2023. But now, the GOP posse is aiming to round up support to override this law, branding it as burdensome to our hardworking farmers.
Hold onto your ten-gallon hats, folks! President Donald Trump’s posse took a shot at California on July 9, filing a lawsuit over the law’s provisions for chicken housing. Their argument? That this law has been stirring the pot and cooking up higher egg prices for everyone involved.
Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson is rustling up a plan to rein in the law’s reach, aiming to corral it within California’s borders and keep those out-of-state pork peddlers from feeling the heat. The farm bill, a mammoth funding package that’s been overdue for two years now, is where Thompson aims to make his mark.
But let’s not forget, folks, that this here issue has got the pork industry hogtied in a lasso of dissent. While some farmers and pork purveyors are spurring on the move to overturn Proposition 12, others are digging in their spurs and standing firm. They’ve already forked over their hard-earned cash to comply with these regulations, and they’re not keen on backtracking now.
Riding in on a bucking bronco of controversy, Matt Bershadker, the CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, threw his ten-gallon hat into the ring. He stands firm in support of laws that rein in the cruel treatment of our four-legged friends on the farm.
According to a missive penned by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and unleashed by the agriculture committee, the cost of bringing barns up to snuff with Prop 12’s standards could set our farmers back a pretty penny. We’re talking about $3,500 to $4,500 per sow. That ain’t chump change, partner!
And on the flip side of the coin, the price of pork cuts, like bacon and ham, has been creeping up since the law kicked in full force in January 2024. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we’re talking about a 1% uptick in those butcher shop prices.
**The Pork Barrel Politics Take Center Stage**
As we mosey on through this political rode
