Prop 12 Debate Intensifies as USDA Confirms Higher Pork Prices and Industry Consolidation Risks

The battle over California’s Proposition 12 is heating up once again on Capitol Hill. In a July 23 hearing, House Agriculture Committee members revisited the controversial 2018 law that bans the sale of pork from pigs housed in small, confined spaces — and new data from the USDA has further fueled the debate.

Republicans Renew Push to Limit Prop 12

House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) is leading a renewed push to curtail Prop 12 through the upcoming farm bill. Thompson is advocating for language that would restrict the law’s enforcement to within California’s borders, effectively shielding out-of-state pork producers from its mandates.

A key Republican goal is to include a scaled-down version of the “Food Security and Farm Protection Act” — previously known as the EATS Act — which would prevent states from imposing their own agricultural standards on products coming from other states.