WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, introduced a new bill last week that would stop California from banning the sale of bacon and other pork products that do not conform to standards set forth in California’s Proposition 12. 

Grassley said the bill would also prevent states like California from “radically regulating how Iowa producers raise their pigs or laying hens in order to sell pork and eggs there.”

“I don’t know why anyone would want to live in a state where it’s almost impossible to buy bacon,” Grassley said. “But California wants to impose such a rule on its residents. Iowa has an abundance of agricultural products to offer, and folks from coast to coast should be able to enjoy them.”

According to the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, Proposition 12, which California voters approved in 2018 and which is set to be implemented at the start of next year, bans the sale in California of uncooked pork from states where sows don’t have pens measuring at least 24 square feet.

“The rule applies to Iowa farmers who want their products to end up on Californians’ dinner plates,” the Register reported. “It’s one of several measures in the law aimed at using the market Bpower of California’s nearly 40 million residents – the most of any state in the nation – to force better treatment of livestock.”

According to the Commerce 10 Clause of the U.S. Constitution, “the government of a state or a unit of local 12 government within a state shall not impose a standard or condition on the production or manufacture of any agricultural products sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce if the production or manufacture occurs in another state.”

Under the new bill called the Exposing Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, state and local governments would be prohibited from interfering with the production or manufacture of agricultural products in other states, and challenges those states from interfering in interstate commerce.

The senators said state and local units of government will still be able to regulate farming and ranching within their own state, however, “this legislation is clear: impeding trade from fellow states is illegal.”

“I’m glad to sponsor this bill, which will protect Iowa farmers and producers, and allow them the freedom to operate their farms as they see fit,” said Grassley, who joined Ernst, and Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, in co-sponsoring the bill.

Currently, more than 20 states have challenged California’s Proposition 12.

Dwight Mogler, an Alvord, Iowa, hog farmer, told the Associated Press he estimated the changes the California rule requires to retrofit his operation would cost him $3 million and allow room for 250 pigs in a space that now holds 300. He added he would need to earn an extra $20 per pig; however, processors are offering far less.

Ernst, who’s a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, said she is pushing back to ensure Iowa farmers and producers can continue selling their products across the country.

“Radicals in liberal states like California shouldn’t be allowed to punish hardworking farmers and producers in Iowa, which is why I’m pushing to strip out this ridiculous law and ensure Iowans can continue selling the nation’s best pork, bacon, and eggs to Americans across the country,” she said.  

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said, “California politicians and activists have no business trying to write laws that apply to people outside of their borders, let alone Iowa farmers.”

“Iowa farmers take great pride in caring for their animals, and that’s why we’re able to consistently produce high-quality protein that feeds much of the world,” he said. “Activist groups claim that California’s Proposition 12 is about protecting animal welfare but, in reality, it’s about limiting animal agriculture.

“Not only will these unnecessary and heavy-handed regulations severely restrict access to affordable food for consumers, especially those who are food-insecure, they will also significantly increase costs and red tape for producers and small businesses,” he added.

He said, “Our founders were clear when they wrote the Constitution: the federal government holds the power to regulate interstate commerce and trade, not individual states like California or New York.

“I want to thank Sens. Grassley and Ernst for offering this legislation and having the backs of Iowa farmers by ensuring they continue to have unobstructed access to markets. I urge Congress to take this legislation up as soon as possible.”