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Prop 12 needs to be blocked, Rep. Nunn says
U.S. Congressman Zach Nunn says lawmakers need to act quickly on legislation that would block California’s Proposition 12 law.
“The issue at hand here is quite clear,” he said. “One state, in this case California initially, and then other states followed to say that places like Iowa couldn’t grow or sell hogs to their standard, and therefore they have banned us from having the ability to do it.”
Prop 12 went into full effect in January, and it bans the sale of pork, veal, and eggs in California from animals anywhere in the country whose confinement does not meet minimum space requirements.
Nunn tells Brownfield the EATS Act would prohibit state and local governments from interfering with the production or manufacture of agricultural products in other states.
“We don’t live in California and frankly we shouldn’t have to adhere to what their state legislators are trying to do even though they are a major market space.”
The Iowa Republican says Prop 12 have been proven to be costly for the nation’s pork producers.
“It’s been done by some folks that are not very educated. One of the requirements they have right now is the sows have to be with the piglets. Anybody who has grown up on a hog farm knows immediately how dangerous that is for the piglet, and it certainly doesn’t help the sow.”
Nunn says House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson has indicated the issue will be one of his priorities in 2024.
Interestingly some people including Trump advocate that states should make their own rules on any number of issues, NOT the federal government. So congress needs to decide which is it. States rights or trampling federal law. At this moment there are too many producers and an over abundance of pork products making profitability in question. I guess it will be a stinking year for pork producers not withstanding the issue with California. There needs to be a shakeout of pork producers, no subsidies!