The Supreme Court's ruling on humane treatment of pigs could catalyze a wave of new animal welfare laws

• On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s position by a 5-4 vote in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross.
• While the ruling was fractured and reflected complex legal questions, it is a major victory for those working to improve farm animal welfare.
• A number of states will undoubtedly take advantage of the power that the Supreme Court has recognized.

More indoor space for sows

• It set new conditions for raising hogs, veal calves and egg-laying chickens whose meat or eggs are sold in California.
• The state produces virtually no pork, but represents about 15% of the U.S. pork market.
• California’s law requires that each sow must have at least 24 square feet of floor space – nearly double the amount that most now get.
• The National Pork Producers Council argued that this requirement imposed heavy compliance costs on farmers across the U.S., since large hog farms may house thousands of sows, and that it restricted interstate commerce.

States control farm animal welfare

• Congress has remained mute on standards for handling farm animals, which are not covered under the 1966 Animal Welfare Act.
• And nine states in addition to California have adopted laws requiring pork producers to phase out gestation crates.

California’s market power

• The California law says that if producers want to sell pork in California, they must raise pigs under conditions that comply with the state’s regulations.
• Farmers do not have to meet these standards unless they want to sell in California.
• But instead of working out how to comply, the pork industry sought to have the courts set the California law aside.

A fractured verdict

• In rejecting the pork industry’s position, justices in the majority disagreed as to why the California law should be upheld.
• Some held that pork producers had not proved that the law would substantially interfere with interstate commerce.
• Similarly, dissenting justices differed as to why the California law posed a constitutional problem.

Beyond pork

• Conceivably, California might also be able to require basic conditions for human labor, such as minimum wage standards, associated with products sold in California.
• I expect that within five years, Congress will enact national legislation on farm animal welfare issues that will preempt differing state laws.