Increased Bacon Price Resulting From California ‘Bacon Law’
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Ever noticed how expensive bacon cost these days? Besides the climate change, increased cost of feeding animals and providing water to and transporting cost of animals, did you know that the California ‘Bacon Law’ had also contributed to this price hike?
A California judge has delayed enforcement of part of a new farm animal welfare law that critics said would cause price hikes and supply shortages for bacon and other fresh pork products in the state. The law that went into effect January 1 stemmed from a 2018 ballot measure where California voters set the nation’s toughest living space standards for breeding pigs. Industry lawsuits opposing the initiative failed, but grocers and restauranteurs then sued to put off enforcement of the new law. A judge ruled that retailers and restaurants would not be subject to enforcement of the new restrictions on whole pork meat sales until six months after the state enacts final regulations. Pork producers and suppliers which sell pork in the state remain subject to enforcement if they violate square-footage requirements that went into effect on Jan. 1. The law requires that breeding pigs be given enough space to stand and turn around. For pigs, that means they no longer can be kept in narrow “gestation crates” and must have 24 square feet (2.23 square meters) of usable space. Many hog farmers in the Midwest argued the changes would be too expensive. An estimate last year from North Carolina State University found the new standard would cost about 15% more per animal for a farm with 1,000 breeding pigs. However, some small organic farmers in California already abiding by the new regulations say it’s time for the industry to adapt. Tara Firma Farms in Sonoma County raises its pigs in open pastures. Tara Firma General Manager Aaron Lucich says the pork industry pushing back on the California law is pointless since the will of the voters has already been decided. While some grocers and restaurant owners complain about rising pork prices in the state which many say will be passed on to consumers, butcher Angela Wilson, owner of Avedano’s Meats in San Francisco, says pork and other meat should be more expensive and consumers should be encouraged to eat less meat which is better for health and the environment. While groups worked to delay the measure, the state eased the transition to the new system. It allowed pork processed under the old rules and held in cold storage to be sold in California in 2022, which could prevent shortages for several months. California is the nation’s largest market for pork, and producers in major hog states like Iowa provide more than 80% of the roughly 255 million pounds (115 million kilograms) that California’s restaurants and groceries use each month, according to Rabobank, a global food and agriculture financial services company, in the video published on Feb. 7, 2022, “Calif. ‘Bacon Law’ may mean shortages, price hikes“, below:
The new law, authored by the Humane Society of the United States, bans the sale of veal from calves and pork from breeding pigs, in the video published on Dec 29, 2021, “Prop 12: New California law to impact pork and egg industries“, below:
A major policy shift in California is set to strike in just a few months. It’s known as Prop 12 – about how livestock must be housed — and it comes from the state with the #1 ag economy — BY FAR — in the nation. The kicker, though, is that it will FORCE COMPLIANCE on other states, and force the cost of raising animals into what some say is a CATASTROPHIC RANGE. Watch this video from Colleen Bradford Krantz for more, in the video published on June 24, 2021, “Farmweek | California’s Prop12 – Not Just For California | June 24, 2021“, below:
In the video published on Dec 20, 2021, “California’s Prop 12 ignites regulatory battle over port industry in court“, below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
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