The House Agriculture Committee took on California’s Prop 12 Wednesday. The law imposes arbitrary and unscientific housing standards on any pork, veal, or egg products that a producer may wish to sell into the state.
“Backed by animal rights activists, the requirements of Prop 12 have no standing in reality, and do nothing to improve animal welfare, food safety, or food affordability,” House Ag Chair GT Thompson, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told the committee.
He went on to say that California’s Department of Food and Agriculture has admitted that the law is not based on scientific literature nor is it the accepted standard within the scientific community.
After years of litigation, the case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court where they decided they couldn’t do anything about Prop 12, but Congress could.
“I disagree with the Court’s decision to uphold Prop 12,” Thompson said. “But I do agree that Congress can and must act to rectify the burdens Prop 12 has imposed on interstate commerce.”
Thompson pointed to data that shows the average cost of retrofitting or rebuilding facilities to meet Prop 12 standards is estimated at $3,500-$4,500 per sow.
“The same data shows that compliance costs disproportionately affect small and mid-sized producers, who face tighter margins and have less access to capital. In fact, as of the first quarter of 2025, 12 percent of small pork operations have exited the market or shifted production away from breeding, citing regulatory uncertainty and high transition costs.”
On the consumer side, retail pork prices in California have increased by 18.7% year-over-year. And a USDA study found that low-income households in California reduced pork purchases by 22%.
“The data shows that both producers and consumers are facing significant cost increases due to Prop 12,” Thompson said. “It begs the question – if producers are paying more, and consumers are paying more, who is winning? Thankfully, the complexity and unfairness of Prop 12 has been realized by both sides of the aisle.”
Thompson says he looks forward to working with his colleagues on the Ag Committee to include a fix for Prop 12 in the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization.
