In December 2022, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published a report titled, “State Policies for Farm Animal Welfare in Production Practices of U.S. Livestock and Poultry Industries: An Overview.” The report analyzes the farm animal welfare laws enacted by states since 2002 to better understand the market impacts on livestock industries and the legislative circumstances surrounding the policies.

The report found that, while state policies may cover a smaller share of operations and production, the retail sale restrictions have a broader reach – expanding beyond state borders and affecting the market for U.S. imports and exports.  

The report also noted that legal challenges in response to state animal welfare policies have largely been unsuccessful. The report noted that the success of current policies may indicate that future legislation could expand the coverage of animal welfare policies. Indeed, the report found that recently proposed policies are beginning to target the dairy and beef industries, which until recently has received less attention than the poultry and pork industries.

An example of a representative state animal welfare policy is California’s Proposition 12, which potentially affects the production of covered pork, veal, and poultry products sold in California, regardless of where they are produced.  Proposition 12 is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, and a decision is expected this summer. The decision could have wide-reaching effects and impact other state policies. Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on these developments.