OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Pork producers in Nebraska and Iowa are calling a Supreme Court ruling that kept a California animal welfare law in place a big setback that will impact them and their customers regardless of where they live.
The law, Proposition 12, was voted on by Californians in 2018. It prohibits the sale of pork in the state that was made in certain conditions. Whether California could institute a law that would impact operations mostly in other states was the subject of cases that were appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.
The law does not allow birthing pigs to be in gestation stalls, which animal welfare advocates say are so small the animal can't turn around, and require at least 24 square feet of space.
"We don't feel California and some of their animal activists should put arbitrary standards out there that are not science based on how farmers in Nebraska should raise their pigs," says Mark Wright, President of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association. "Farmers in Nebraska consult with veterinarians on a daily basis. They work with the university system ... California is not recognizing those experts."
Iowa produces the most pork of any state, and Nebraska is about sixth with about 1,500 pork producers, Wright said.
California makes up 13% of the industry, Wright said. He fears that will mean "tractability issues" in the supply chain to ensure it is segregated. He says some producers won't change their practices, but others will.
Northwest Iowa pork producer Dwight Mogler says he's been following the challenge to Prop 12 closely. Both Mogler and Wright said they believe the motivation of groups who pushed for Prop 12 want to go much further: to abolish animal agriculture altogether.
Mogler says the farm he built in 2015 doesn't use the gestation stalls. Instead, he uses group housing, responding to their perception of what consumers want. But he says his operation still doesn't meet the requirements at 19.5 square feet per pig.
He says pork producers will need to build bigger barns and could see an impact on operation costs as well. He says those costs will have to be passed along to consumers. Therefore, he says people who can afford pork the least will be impacted the most.
He says special interest groups drove the change in California.
"I'm using strong words here," Mogler said. "But it is a warped value system ... It is a different value system than what's been embraced by civilization since the beginning of time, where animals are an essential part of the food chain."
Bill Alward of Little Mountain Ranch and Garden near Fort Calhoun hasn't been involved in conventional pork operations, but instead runs a small direct-to-consumer farm.
But he describes the cramped conditions he's heard about this way: "In my opinion, it's a pretty inhumane way to raise pigs." Their pigs are outdoors 365 days a year, with plenty of room under the shade of the forest.
"Three times a day, you kind of vote with how you eat your food, what kind of food system you support," he said. "If you're buying a super cheap package of bacon at the grocery store, you're probably supporting a food system where pigs are confined in a really tight living space ... I would like to see more humane livestock operations, and I think they're getting more popular, more and more."
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