The Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 12 despite the National Pork Producers Council’s attempts to challenge it. Prop 12 is a California law that places a statewide ban on the sale of pork, veal and eggs that were produced in farms where minimum space requirements were not met.
The proposition states that egg-laying hens must be provided with at least 1 square foot of floor space per bird, and breeding pigs must be provided with at least 24 square feet of floor space per animal. All veal calves must be housed in group pens with at least 43 square feet of floor space per calf.
This ban only affects sales in the state of California, which consumes 13% of U.S. pork. The industry argues that implementing Proposition 12 will cost billions of dollars for pork producers in other states.
Proposition 12 won’t empty the cages, it will just make them slightly bigger. However its implementation can at least make things more difficult for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in terms of profits.