The Great California Bacon Crisis – thank the voters

California will suffer a shortage of bacon and other pork cuts, with significantly higher prices. Thank the voters of California for voting “yes” to prop 12 for mandating hogs get bigger digs. Not only pork raised in California are involved but the sale of any pork sold that is raised in or outside the State are included. The courts have upheld the proposition.

The minimum space for sows is 24 sq. ft. In Iowa and other hog-producing states, breeding sows are typically kept in gestation crates of about 14 sq. ft.

Larry Elder thinks he is going to become Governor, be successful in bringing about change, dealing with the inability of the electorate to see any cause and effect? I say let California do without the piggies. Why should other states be impacted by the requirements of California. They impacted the price of our cars, enough with our food supply,

Ballotpedia:

California Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, was on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.^[1] The measure was approved.

A yes vote supported this initiative to: establish minimum space requirements based on square feet for calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens and ban the sale of (a) veal from calves, (b) pork from breeding pigs, and (c) eggs from hens when the animals are confined to areas below minimum square-feet requirements.

A no vote opposed this initiative, thus: keeping in place minimum space requirements based on animal movement—not square feet—for calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens and continuing to ban the sale of shelled eggs from hens—but not liquid eggs from hens, veal from calves, or pork from breeding pigs—that are confined to areas not meeting space requirements based on animal movement standards.

Fiscal impact

Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state’s legislative analyst and director of finance.

The fiscal impact statement was as follows:^[23]

“

Potential decrease in state and local tax revenues from farm businesses, likely not to exceed the low millions of dollars annually. Potential state costs ranging up to ten million dollars annually to enforce the measure.[24]

”

Due to a number of restrictions in the state, nearly all of the hog producers moved out of California despite the high demand for pork products.

“California is by far the largest state in the country, representing 13% of the U.S. population and about 15% of the domestic pork market,” said Michael Formica, assistant vice president and general counsel for the National Pork Producers Council. “It takes 750,000 sows to supply the California market yet only 1,500 sows are housed in the state. Most of the pork consumed in California is produced in other states.”

With the approval of Proposition 12 in November of 2018, California voters approved a ballot measure changing production standards again, this time not just for the few remaining sow operations in the state, but for pork sold in the state. The proposition prohibits the sale of any uncooked pork in the state not meeting the new set of production standards spelled out in Proposition 12, whether raised there or outside its borders. With a compliance deadline of Jan. 1, 2022, less than 1% of U.S. pork production currently meets Proposition 12 requirements.

“The most important thing to know about Prop 12 is the residents of California were asked a simple question: ‘Do you think farm animals should be protected from cruel treatment?’” Formica said. “That is a yes or no question and, of course, everyone said, ‘Yes, animals shouldn’t be treat cruelly. We agree!’ Unfortunately, California voters were misled by this question, one that failed to provide context for the high standards of animal care followed by U.S. pork producers.

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The consensus from the media?

“Eventually though, those same analysts predict the California standard could become the norm, simply by the fact that the industry can’t afford to ignore the market demand from the state.”

Other than that all is well in the swamp

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