“And they impose these enormous costs on pork producers, which will ultimately increase costs for American consumers, making it more difficult for families on a budget to afford this important source of protein,” wrote attorneys for the National Pork Producers Council in their initial lawsuit against the law in 2019.AASV Swine Information Library Catalog AASV Annual Meeting Opponents of the law said it would be a massive burden on producers and that the costs of the changes would be passed on to consumers. Pork farmers argued that California, which consumes around 15% of pork nationwide but only produces a marginal amount, should not be allowed to dictate the rules of pig farming to farmers outside of the state. While certain parts of the law concerning hens and veal have already taken effect, the portion concerning the treatment of breeding pigs was put on pause while it was challenged in court by pork producers.

More than four years later, the industry has changed and it has transformed to meet the demand of California,” said Josh Balk, who led the Proposition 12 initiative. “When Proposition 12 passed in 2018, pork producers claimed there was no way they could ever make the transition away from confining pigs in small cages. The law targeted the practice among some farmers of keeping sows in cramped stalls separate from other pigs. The law, passed as Proposition 12 in California, requires that breeding pigs be confined to a pen with no less than 24 square feet of floor space, allowing them to fully turn around in their living area.

Golden state swine farm