The Biden administration and the state of California, normally steadfast allies on a range of environmental issues, were at odds in the case over whether California has the right to impose tough animal-welfare standards on pork produced outside the state.
California's Proposition 12 bans the sale of pork products unless the animal from which it derived was housed with specific space allowances.
Two agricultural associations– supported by Biden's Justice Department — challenged the 2018 law, saying almost no farms satisfy those housing conditions, and that the “massive costs of complying” will “fall almost exclusively on out-of-state farmers,” passing them on to consumers across the U.S.
BIDEN BATTLES CALIFORNIA IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT OVER HOW TO BRING HOME THE BACON
The groups – National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation – say forcing pork producers to follow California standards would give California the power to unfairly impose new costs on the industry and “transform the pork industry nationwide.”