On Monday, March 28^th, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a Writ of Certiorari petition submitted by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in National Pork Producers Council v. Karen Ross.  The suit alleges that Proposition 12 in California violates the Constitution’s dormant commerce clause by placing an undue burden on pork producers nationally.

Proposition 12  establishes new standards for confinement of certain farm animals (breeding pigs, calves raised for veal, and egg-laying hens) and bans the sale of products from such animals not raised under minimum confinement standards in California. The law is not limited to producers in California. Therefore, farmers across the country who sell pork, veal, and eggs in California must comply with Proposition 12.

By way of background, on September 27, 2021 several agricultural groups, including NPPC and AFBF, petitioned the Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision to uphold California’s Proposition 12, alleging that the law’s national impact on pork producers is an undue burden on interstate commerce.  This is not the first Proposition 12 petition to go before the Supreme Court. In June 2021, the Court denied the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) request to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision to uphold Proposition 12.