DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa’s attorney general is joining other states in opposing a Massachusetts animal welfare lawsuit. Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed an amicus brief in support of pork producers. Massachusetts Question 3 imposes certain spacing requirements for sows, or mother pigs, and bans the sale of pork that doesn’t comply.
“It’s really a problem when states start legislating in this area, because we’re talking about hogs raised in Iowa, for example. Massachusetts doesn’t have authority over them, and as states change these regulations over time, it makes it harder and harder for Iowa farmers to compete,” Bird said.
Attorney General Bird says the Massachusetts law will hurt pork sales in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast.
“They are even applying their regulations to pork shipped through Massachusetts. Through their ports, Massachusetts has a lot of warehouses that hold the pork that’s needed for the northeastern part of the United States. It’s a real problem for pork producers,” says Bird.
“It is also a very dangerous precedent to have states telling Iowa farmers how they have to raise their pigs across the United States, because how could one farmer comply with all these regulations?” said Bird.
Iowa State Representative Ashley Hinson says the law sets a bad precedent.
“This is really a slippery slope because at what point do they start dictating what conditions, what hourly wage, the list could go on and on in terms of what parameters they can put on any product. It could cripple an entire industry,” said Hinson.
To fight back, Hinson has introduced the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. It would prevent states from creating regulations that affect producers in another state.
“I think we need to let consumers make that choice. If you as a consumer decide you don’t want bacon that’s raised a certain way, you can buy other bacon. I think that’s the right we should have here as Americans and we shouldn’t be banning breakfast and that’s what these states have essentially done,” Hinson said.
The Massachusetts case goes to trial later this month.