NPPC continues lobbying against Prop 12 implementation

In official comments to California’s Department of Food and Agriculture, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says that the animal welfare rules governing Proposition 12 are problematic for pig farmers.
calendar icon 30 August 2021
clock icon 3 minute read

Michael Formica, NPPC’s assistant vice president and general counsel, presented to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) oral comments on problems with proposed regulations implementing the state’s animal welfare measure, Proposition 12.

Approved by California voters in November 2018, Prop. 12 will ban the sale in the state of pork from hogs born to sows housed in pens raised anywhere in the country that do not meet California’s updated sow housing standards. It also will prohibit the use of breeding stalls.

The CDFA only recently issued proposed rules for implementing Prop. 12 despite a 1 September 2019 statutory deadline for doing so. Among other issues, Formica pointed out that the proposed regulations would require annual certification of hog farms’ compliance with Prop. 12’s requirements, create an accreditation process for entities allowed to conduct such certifications, impose recordkeeping requirements on farmers, meat packers and others throughout the pork supply chain and impose new labeling requirements for pork.

Formica reiterated NPPC’s request – made in written comments submitted in July – that the 1 January 2022, effective date for Prop. 12 be delayed at least two years from the date regulations are finally promulgated.

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.