California bacon law goes into effect. Here’s what that means
A California law approved by voters that promises to get breeding pigs out of cramped cages that prevent them from standing or turning will finally take effect Saturday, after years of delays and warnings that the rules could lead to price increases and pork shortages. be six months before grocery shoppers in California can be sure that the pork they buy under the new law will be from a pig whose mother was not confined in a so-called gestation crate. That’s because while the US Supreme Court upheld the law, the state recently agreed to allow pork slaughtered before July 1 to be sold in California markets and restaurants for the rest of the year. That decision gives farmers and grocery stores time to adjust. But vexing supporters of the new rules, the effective implementation of the law would again be delayed — four years after voters approved it. “This development adds to the instability and confusion in the marketplace, while penalizing the small independent family farmers and those companies that have been prepared to comply with the law,”[ads1]; Chris Oliviero, general manager of meat company Niman Ranch, said in a statement. even supporters of the tougher rules recognize that the delay is an advantage: Giving manufacturers, grocers and restaurants more time to adjust will reduce the chance of shortages. Josh Balk, who led the Humane Society of the United States’ campaign to pass the law, said “it’s going to be a smooth transition for the pork industry.” The measure also included space requirements for egg-laying hens and veal calves. But while these producers complied, the pork industry filed legal challenges. They argued that California, which consumes about 13% of the nation’s pork but produces almost none of it, should not dictate how farmers mainly in the Midwest and North Carolina raise hogs. in their condition had to be born to sows with at least 24 square meters of space, so that a breeding pig could turn around and extend its limbs. It effectively banned widely used gestation crates that protect sows from other pigs, which can be aggressive but are seen by many people as cruel. Producers argued converting barns to comply would be costly, with standard operations paying $5 million to $15 million, said Michael Formica, an attorney with the Iowa-based National Pork Producers Council. Larger rooms would also mean higher heating and maintenance costs. Pork producers also defended the treatment of pigs, arguing that the law was not based on science. The Supreme Court upheld the law in a 5-4 ruling, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing that “While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California grocers can sell is not on that list.” To sell in California, farmers must operate more like Jared Schilling, who left a job as a civil engineer in Chicago to join his three siblings in moving their family farm in southern Illinois away from gestation crates.They moved to group housing for all the breeding pigs theirs as well as the other pigs. “It’s easier to manage an animal if they never move,” Schilling said of the crates. They thought giving the animals extra space would be more humane, but without crates breeding pigs sometimes fight each other. The family had to add new technology to track each animal and figure out ways to prevent the fights, on top of the cost of the expensive new barns. After about five years, the farm now has about 3,600 breeding sows. It sells 80,000 pigs a year to Coleman Natural Foods, a Colorado-based national meat distributor that has sold only case-free pork since 2018. Schilling said Coleman pays him about 5-10% more for the hogs so he can cover the extra expenses. The family’s decision to keep animals in much larger pens also paid off in a more relaxed operation for everyone – humans as well as pigs. “When they’re in the pen, they lie down, relax. There is basically no noise, Schilling said. “They definitely feel more relaxed.” The California law, as well as one soon to take effect in Massachusetts, should mean increased demand for pork from Schilling’s farm and, ultimately, more profits. Some California grocers don’t expect too much disruption, but others are crawling, even with the latest regulatory delay, said Ronald Fong, executive director of the California Grocers Association. Bacon will probably stay well stored because it can be frozen. But fresh produce may be less available. “Pork chops, pork loin, roast pork, which are sold fresh, not frozen, those are the types of products that we can foresee a disruption at some level,” Fong said. Balk, a champion of humane societies, now heads a company that seeks to influence food companies by investing in them. He believes the California law will hasten the decline of maternity funds. He said some companies are already pledging to stop buying pork from businesses that use the crates, and it is only a matter of time before they are phased out. For now, it is unclear how many pig farmers will invest to upgrade cages and meet demand in California and Massachusetts. “As best as we can tell, there is nowhere near enough supply,” said Formica, of pork producers.
A California law approved by voters that promises to get breeding pigs out of cramped cages that prevent them from standing or turning will finally take effect Saturday, after years of delays and warnings that the rules could lead to price increases and pork shortages.
But it will be six months before California grocers can be sure that the pork they buy under the new law will come from a pig whose mother was not confined in a so-called gestation crate.
That’s because while the US Supreme Court upheld the law, the state recently agreed to allow pork slaughtered before July 1 to be sold in California markets and restaurants for the rest of the year. That decision gives farmers and grocery stores time to adjust. But vexing supporters of the new rules, effective implementation of the law would again be delayed — four years after voters approved it.
“This development exacerbates the instability and confusion in the market, while penalizing the small independent family farmers and those companies that have been prepared to comply with the law,” Chris Oliviero, general manager of meat company Niman Ranch, said in a statement.
Niman can benefit from the law because it contracts with farmers who have long complied with California’s new animal welfare rules.
But even supporters of the tougher rules recognize that the delay is an advantage: Giving manufacturers, grocers and restaurants more time to adjust will reduce the chance of shortages. Josh Balk, who led the Humane Society of the United States’ campaign to pass the law, said “it’s going to be a smooth transition for the pork industry.”
The measure also included space requirements for egg-laying hens and calves. But while these producers complied, the pork industry filed legal challenges. They argued that California, which consumes about 13% of the nation’s pork but produces almost none of it, should not dictate how farmers, mainly in the Midwest and North Carolina, raise hogs.
Californians approved Proposition 12 in 2018, requiring fresh pork sold in their state to be born to sows with at least 24 square feet of space to allow a breeding pig to turn around and extend its limbs. It effectively banned widely used gestation crates that protect sows from other pigs, which can be aggressive but are seen by many as cruel.
Producers argued converting barns to comply would be costly, with standard operations paying $5 million to $15 million, said Michael Formica, an attorney with the Iowa-based National Pork Producers Council. Larger space will also mean higher heating and maintenance costs.
Pork producers also defended their treatment of pigs, arguing that the law was not based on science.
The Supreme Court upheld the law in a 5-4 ruling, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing that “While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California grocers can sell is not on that list.”
To sell in California, farmers must operate more like Jared Schilling, who left a job as a civil engineer in Chicago to join his three siblings in moving their family farm in southern Illinois away from gestation crates. They moved to group housing for all their breeding pigs as well as the other pigs.
“It’s easier to manage an animal if they never move,” Schilling said of the crates.
They thought giving the animals extra space would be more humane, but without crates, the breeding pigs sometimes fight each other. The family had to add new technology to track each animal and figure out ways to prevent the fights, on top of the cost of the expensive new barns.
After around five years, the farm now has around 3,600 breeding sows. It sells 80,000 hogs a year to Coleman Natural Foods, a Colorado-based national meat distributor that has sold only case-free pork since 2018.
Schilling said Coleman pays him about 5-10% more for the hogs to cover his extra expenses. The family’s decision to keep animals in much larger pens also paid off in a more relaxed operation for everyone – humans as well as pigs.
“When they’re in the pens, they lay down, relax. There is basically no noise, Schilling said. “They definitely feel more relaxed.”
The California law, as well as one soon to take effect in Massachusetts, should mean increased demand for pork from Schilling’s farm and, ultimately, more profits.
Some California grocers aren’t expecting too much disruption, but others are reeling, even with the latest regulatory delay, said Ronald Fong, executive director of the California Grocers Association.
Bacon will probably stay well stored because it can be frozen. But fresh produce may be less available.
“Pork chops, pork loins, pork roasts, which are sold fresh, not frozen, those are the types of products that we can expect a disruption at some level,” Fong said.
Balk, the champion of the humane society, now heads a company that tries to influence food companies by investing in them. He believes the California law will hasten the decline of maternity funds. He said some companies are already pledging to stop buying pork from businesses that use the crates, and it’s only a matter of time before they are phased out.
For now, it is unclear how many pig farmers will invest to upgrade cages and meet demand in California and Massachusetts.
“As best as we can tell, there is not nearly enough supply,” said Formica, of the pork producers.
