Overview

• At a July 23 hearing, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson pressed to include farm bill language that would limit Proposition 12’s animal housing standards to California producers
• The Justice Department filed suit on July 9 asserting the law’s egg-housing rules have driven up prices through improper interstate regulation, and the case remains pending
• Industry opponents cite retrofit costs of $3,500 to $4,500 per sow and argue Proposition 12 violates the Commerce Clause by imposing California’s rules nationwide
• Supporters including the ASPCA and thousands of farmers who have invested to comply warn that rolling back the law would undermine established animal welfare protections
• Economic analyses are mixed, with some studies finding no impact of Proposition 12 on pork prices and others linking recent egg and meat price fluctuations to bird flu outbreaks and tariff policies