Push in Congress seeks to overturn California farm animal welfare law
A push is underway among some members of Congress that could overturn a measure approved by California voters aimed at improving the treatment of farm animals.
At issue: Proposition 12, which mandated minimum cage sizes for animals raised for meat.
California voters passed the proposition in 2018 by a margin of 2 to 1. It said that pork sold in the state must come from pigs that had at least enough space to turn around.
A recent survey from the nonprofit World Animal Protection found that 80% of consumers felt concerned when they learned about the treatment of factory-farmed pigs.
An estimated two-thirds of factory farms house sows in gestation crates with barely enough space to move back and forth. They aren't able to turn around, surrounded by metal bars where they're artificially inseminated and standing over their own waste.
Under Prop 12, meat from these conditions is banned from being sold in California.
Now, two new federal bills could allow meat from crated animals to be sold here again as long as they're raised elsewhere.
Lawmakers that represent the highest pig-producing states are pushing for the law.
Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) sent CBS News Bay Area a statement, saying, "Midwest farmers and ranchers who produce our nation's food supply should not be hamstrung by coastal activist agendas that dictate production standards from hundreds of miles away."
Some pig farmers, including Brent Hershey in Pennsylvania, already changed his operations to comply with California's rules.
"As that all evolved, I started to see that we can't defend this," said Hershey.
Now he's left wondering where his business stands because he says he's made the change and spent capital to satisfy those markets.
"We would say that that's very disruptive," said Hershey.
At a farm in the Sonoma County community of Windsor, the sows and boars have much more than room to turn around. They have sunshine and mud.
"I figure these animals are giving us so much, we might as well give them as good a life as they can," said farmer Jeffrey Kent.
He's been raising pigs for as long as he can remember. For the approximately 100 pigs on his farm, it's a life of free range.
"It creates a much more natural life and creates a much happier pig which in the end creates a much better product," said Kent, "To be honest, I don't think I really compete with (factory farmers) at all because the customers that I have aren't interested in buying that kind of meat."
Kent says that when you get to spend some time with his pigs, you see that they all have different personalities and are really quite smart. He referred to a new litter of pigs and how their mother treats them.
"She talks to them. You can hear the storing back and forth. It's pretty great to see the community and the mothering instincts that they have," said Kent.
Of course, those babies will eventually end up slaughtered when Kent deems the time is right. During their time growing up at his farm, though, they're guaranteed the simple things in life: fresh air, mud, and a little room to roam.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to the National Pork Producers Council, the American Farm Bureau, and the Iowa Pork Producers Association. They have all opposed Prop. 12 they all support the newly proposed laws, but no one wanted to go on camera to discuss it.
Senator Adam Schiff (D-California) strongly supports Prop 12, saying in a statement, "Any attempt to overturn it will face strong opposition. Congress should continue to respect the decision of California voters — as it would the voters in any state — and I will push back on any efforts to undermine their voices."
