It might seem strange that the country’s Supreme Court has taken on a case about the housing of pigs. But it makes more sense when you learn about the strange way that some pork producers house pigs. This issue has rightly caught the attention of Americans from all walks of life who want to ensure the safety of the food we serve our families and who also feel that animals raised for food deserve to be treated humanely. Here in Colorado, we’ve already weighed in on this debate, and should ask our legislators to go further.
The Supreme Court debate stems from a 2018 law, Proposition 12, passed by a large margin of California voters. The law essentially says that pork produced and sold in the state must come from facilities that give mother pigs enough space to turn around. Voters passed the measure because they strongly object to the practice used by some industrial pork producers of confining female pigs in “gestation crates.” These cages are so small that the animals are unable to turn around and can’t take more than a step forward or backward for most of their lives. Defeated in the court of public opinion, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has been searching ever since for a court of law to overturn the will of voters. After repeatedly losing in lower courts, the NPPC’s case will be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States on Oct. 11.
This issue may sound familiar to Coloradans. Back in 2008, state legislators from both parties, at the urging of their constituents, enacted a ban on the use of pig gestation crates within our state. They did so after hearing from concerned experts from various fields who argued that pigs are intelligent, social animals who suffer tremendously when immobilized and isolated in gestation crates. Lawmakers heard from responsible farmers who confirmed that gestation crates are completely unnecessary, and that with good stewardship pigs can live peacefully and healthily in group pens where they are able to move and interact with each other.
Since Colorado passed its ban, a large amount of scientific evidence has accumulated showing that gestation crates pose significant risks to human health. In a brief defending Proposition 12, the American Public Health Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Center for Food Safety and other authorities detailed how confining animals in ultra-restrictive cages provides an ideal environment for bacteria and viruses to grow, breed and mutate. They explained that “more space reduces stress in sows, which mitigates the cascade of stress-related negative health impacts on the sows and their piglets destined for slaughter — which, ultimately, reduces risk to California’s food safety and public health.” Hundreds of thousands of Americans are sickened every year by contaminated pork. The CEOs of Big Pork should be ashamed for putting Americans’ health at risk because they think they can make a few extra pennies on a pound of bacon.
The NPPC is trying desperately to portray this as a liberal issue because of the Supreme Court’s conservative leaning. But that’s a flimsy argument. Voters and lawmakers in states across the country are banning gestation crates, including in “red” states like Florida, Arizona and Ohio. Public polling consistently shows that getting rid of gestation crates has cross-party support, which isn’t surprising: preventing animal abuse and protecting the food supply have long been bipartisan issues. A recent nationwide poll showed that more than three-quarters of Republicans would like a law like Proposition 12 passed in their own states. Hopefully the Supreme Court won’t strip away states’ long-held right to restrict products that violate public morals and that threaten public health.
Unlike California’s law, Colorado’s ban on gestation crates did not apply to pork sold in our state. This is a loophole that our lawmakers in Denver would be wise to close. In the meantime, Coloradans can take action on this issue by asking the manager of their favorite restaurant or grocery store to ditch gestation-crate pork, and to make sure any pork they do buy is safer and more humane.
Aubyn Royall is Colorado state director for the Humane Society of the United States.
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