If fundraising is a predictor of electoral success, supporters of “cage-free” Proposition 12, which would specify how many square feet of space California farmers must provide for egg-laying chickens, sows and veal calves, will stroll to victory in a statewide referendum on November 6. The leading opponent uses the unusual argument that Prop 12 “harms farm animals” by not being strict enough soon enough.
Meanwhile, the president of the California Farm Bureau says Proposition 12 “would push egg prices higher in the state that already suffers from the nation’s highest poverty rate” and expose egg farmers to predatory lawsuits over their operations. “Everyone agrees farm animals should be treated with care,” said Farm Bureau president Jamie Johansson, who pointed to passage in 2008 of precedent-setting Proposition 2, which said hens, sows and calves should have enough room to stand up, lie down, turn around and fully extend their limbs
Proposition 2 was followed by a state law that barred import of meat and eggs from states that did not have similar standards. Those requirements set off years of still-unresolved litigation and inspired referendums in four other states on farm animal confinement. The House included a provision in its farm bill this year that sponsor Iowa Rep. Steve King says would prevent states—such as California—that regulate agricultural production in other states. Four of every nine eggs consumed in California are imported from other states, including Iowa, so there is Midwestern angst over the prospect of remodeling poultry barns.
Under Proposition 12, eggs, veal and pork produced outside California would have to meet the same standards that farmers in the state would face. Beginning in 2020, farmers would have to give veal calves 43 square feet of floor space apiece, pregnant sows 24 square feet of floor space, and 1 square foot for egg-laying hens. Beginning in 2022, floor space for hens would be determined by the cage-free guidelines of the trade group United Egg Producers.
If passed, Proposition 12 would create the strongest law protecting farm animals from extreme confinement in the world,” said Prevent Cruelty California, the umbrella group backing the initiative. “Prop 12 explicitly establishes that eggs produced and sold in California must come from cage-free eggs.” The space requirements would mean the end of so-called battery cages for hens, sow “crates” and veal-calf stalls that restrict movement.
Prevent Cruelty California raised $5.7 million, including $1.75 million from the Humane Society of the United States, in support of Prop 12, according to Ballotpedia. A Humane Society official says private polling suggests Prop 12 “is likely going to easily pass.” The group Californians Against Cruelty, Cages and Fraud got all of its $500,000 in funds from Humane Farming Action Fund (HFA).
On the colorfully named website stoptherottenegginitiative.org, the HFA says Prop 2 failed to end battery cages and Prop 12 carries “another set of false promises” because it would not take effect for four years for chickens. “This back-sliding proposition, in fact, explicitly legalizes the continued use of egg-factory cages until, at the very least, 2022!” The HFA foresees “inevitable years of legal challenges” from Prop 12’s standards for eggs, veal and pork shipped into California.
Prevent Cruelty California says the HFA is working in league with industrial agriculture. The animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals also opposes Prop 12 as “a step backward. It would ingrain the farming practice of giving hens a minuscule amount of space for years to come,” said PETA in the early days of the Prop 12 campaign. The disagreement over animal welfare strategy is one of the oddities of the debate that has animal activists on both sides of the issue. Prevent Cruelty has a longer list of supporters.
Two Purdue economists, Jayson Lusk and Conner Mullally, said Prop 2 resulted in higher egg prices in California than if the ballot initiative had been defeated. In a research paper, Lusk said egg production and the number of egg-laying chickens in California fell by 35 percent by July 2016, when Prop 2 was fully implemented. Eggs prices were as much as 33 percent higher at points but the difference dwindled to 9 percent by fall 2016. “Improving animal welfare may be a worthy policy goal. However, our results show that any such policy changes come with a price,” said Mullally.