Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to California’s Prop 12 Farm Welfare Law

2 Min Read By Pooja S. Nair

On March 28, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of National Pork Producers, et. al. v. Karen Ross, 21-468.  

The order means that the Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 12 farm animal confinement law.  Proposition 12 was passed by California voters in 2018 as a ballot initiative.  The law prohibits confining certain farm animals (egg-laying hens, veal calves, and breeding pigs) in a cruel manner (as defined by the law), and prohibits the sale of products from farm animals confined in a cruel manner in California. California consumers account for approximately 13 percent of pork consumption across the country.

The first phase of the law went into effect on January 1, 2020 and set requirements for cage sizes for egg-laying hens and veal.  The second phase of the law went into effect on January 1, 2022, and required egg-laying hens to be housed cage-free and breeding…