November 7, 2024 | 22:56 GMT +7

  • Click to copy
Monday- 13:38, 13/11/2023

US pork industry is still fighting Prop 12

(VAN) The US pork industry is not giving up its fight against Proposition 12. Certain Republican senators are therefore aiming to issue a counteracting act.
Group housed sows at a farm in Indiana. Photo: Vincent ter Beek

Group housed sows at a farm in Indiana. Photo: Vincent ter Beek

Proposition 12 is a California state law from 2018, also known as the “farm animal confinement initiative.” It will take effect  on January 1, 2024. It requires that pork meat sold within the state of California, the largest US state market for pork, must meet certain sow housing requirements related to freedom of movement and larger floor space per pig.

In addition, in 2016, the state of Massachusetts passed Question 3 (Q3), which is similar to Prop 12. However, it goes further in that it prevents the shipment of non-compliant pork through the state, affecting several state markets.

An act to counteract

The Supreme Court upheld Prop 12 in May 2023. Now, to counteract this, 2 Republican senators introduced a piece of legislation called “The Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act” (which technically is a bill until approved by Congress, ed.). The act is supported by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation, as well as almost 3 dozen co-sponsors in the US House of Representatives and 13 senators (besides the 2 who introduced it in the US Senate).

However, a letter against the act has been signed by other Republican legislators. They state that the act, “as applied in this circumstance, it is at odds with our foundational Republican principles of states’ rights, national sovereignty and fair competition.”

This group is concerned that the act would provide WH Group, a Chinese company that owns the largest US pork producer Smithfield Foods, “with a mechanism to bypass state-level laws and rapidly acquire even more American land and pork industry assets with no restraints at all.”

Feasibility of Prop 12 and similar legislation

There are those, such as Dr Monique Pairis-Garcia (associate professor, veterinarian at North Carolina State University and columnist at Pig Progress), who believe the US industry can manage to find ways to comply with newly-introduced standards. However, others at the World Pork Congress were of the opposite view. Michael Formica, NPPC chief legal strategist, stated that Prop 12 is “catastrophic for farmers in Iowa” and “also for consumers in California” due to increased pork prices in that state.

Dr Steve Meyer, an agricultural economist at Kerns and Associates, explained further that because non-compliant pork will no longer be able to be sold in California next year, it will be introduced into other US states, leading to an oversupply outside California. He noted that “the price of pork will have to drop 10-15% cutoff value per hundredweight, and prices are already low.”

Compliance already occurring

However, about 2 years ago, 2 of the largest US pork companies, Tyson Foods and Hormel have already agreed to comply with Prop 12. Canadian pork is also sold in the US, and major Canadian integrated pork producer Maple Leaf Foods has already transitioned to open housing for gestating sows. Quebec-based duBreton produces a line of ‘humane-certified’ pork that complies with Prop 12. In addition, several farm equipment companies are producing Prop-12 compliant housing options.

HD

(PP)

Regenerative agriculture- restoring soils for a healthier lifestyle

Regenerative agriculture- restoring soils for a healthier lifestyle

(VAN) According to Regeneration International, regenerative agriculture describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity...

Four ways Trump could impact the agriculture sector during second term

Four ways Trump could impact the agriculture sector during second term

(VAN) In a return to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to overturn climate regulations and deregulate the agriculture industry.

Cop16: the world’s largest meeting to save nature has ended with no clear path ahead

Cop16: the world’s largest meeting to save nature has ended with no clear path ahead

(VAN) Progress at the UN’s biodiversity summit, Cop16, in Cali, Colombia, has been slow. Frustratingly so.

Meeting the new demands of the EUDR

Meeting the new demands of the EUDR

(VAN) Sophisticated automation enables users to send hundreds of data collection requests with a single click.

Small farmers in Europe struggle to get by

Small farmers in Europe struggle to get by

(VAN) Brutal economic situation has inflicted misery on farmers who struggle to turn a profit and forced some to look for alternative streams of revenue.

China intensifies emergency food supply amid increasing extreme weather events

China intensifies emergency food supply amid increasing extreme weather events

China has reinforced its emergency food supply in response to increasing extreme weather events and natural disasters, an official said.

Scientists dismayed as UK ministers clear way for gene editing of crops - but not animals

Scientists dismayed as UK ministers clear way for gene editing of crops - but not animals

(VAN) Advocates urge government to allow ‘precision breeding’ to combat disease, but RSPCA warns of ethical dangers.

Read more