Virginia is the latest state to join the effort to prevent a California law from interfering with agricultural production nationwide. A total of 17 states are pushing to eliminate multiple state regulations in an attempt to regain control of agribusiness within their borders.
The attorney general of Virginia pledged to support the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act, which was reintroduced by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) in June.
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Lawmakers are partially targeting California’s animal welfare law, Proposition 12, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in May and ensures space regulations for animals. Proposition 12 bans the sale of pork in California from farms anywhere in the country unless the animals are given at least 24 square feet of space in their cages. The EATS Act hopes to overturn the regulations in defense of free market economies.
“California’s Proposition 12 is yet another example of a radical standard forced onto all the States that will only harm consumers, weaken interstate commerce, and set farmers up to fail,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote on Wednesday.
Proposition 12 was initially passed by California voters in 2018 by a vote of about 63% to 37%, giving guidelines on farm animal production both inside and outside of the state.
Major pork production companies across the U.S. are divided on where they stand on the EATS Act. Clemens Food Group has said it doesn't support the bill, and multiple large productions such as Tyson, Hormel, and Smithfield have said they’ll comply with California’s rules.
The National Pork Producers Council, a voice for the pork industry, has shown support for the passage of the legislation.
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“NPPC supports finding a legislative solution, like the EATS Act, to Proposition 12 to prevent state and local governments from interfering with the production of agricultural products in other states,” the NPPC said, adding it would cost anywhere from $1.9 billion to $3.2 billion to convert existing sow pens to meet California’s new regulations.
Virginia joined Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia in asking congressional leadership to pass the EATS Act.