Explainer: California’s Proposition 12 requires imports to meet their animal welfare standards
- rainer802
- Aug 21, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Mar 21
Several countries and regions around the world have enacted import restrictions due to animal welfare concerns. One notable example is California’s Proposition 12. Here we take a closer look at how Proposition 12 was applied, what it covers, its impact and the aftermath.
What is Proposition 12?
Proposition 12, also known as the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, is a precedent setting California ballot measure (referendum) that was passed by voters in November 2018 and has improved the lives of millions of animals. The proposition established minimum space requirements for mother pigs (called breeding pigs), egg-laying hens, and veal calves. California’s law also prohibits the in-state sale of products that are not raised according to these standards, regardless of whether the animals were raised in California or elsewhere.
What welfare standards are required by Proposition 12?
Proposition 12 set minimum space requirements for farmed animals:
Breeding pigs: Must have at least 24 square feet (2.23 m2) of space per pig, effectively banning the use of sow stalls (typically 14 square feet) where mother pigs cannot turn around and express other natural behaviour such as socialising with other pigs.
Egg-laying hens: Must have at least 144 square inches (929 cm2) of usable floor space per hen by 2020 and cage-free housing by 2022, banning the use of cages where birds cannot express natural behaviour such as dust bathing, perching, and nesting. This provision applies to any female domesticated chicken, turkey, duck, goose, or guinea fowls kept for the purpose of egg production.
Veal calves: Must have at least 43 square feet (4m2) of space per calf, effectively banning the use of veal crates, which confine calves in spaces so small, they can’t turn around, nor run, jump or walk.
What was the timeline for Proposition 12?
November 2018: California voters approved Proposition 12 with over 62% of people voting in favour.
January 2020: Minimum usable floorspace requirements went into effect for calves (whole veal meat) and egg-laying hens (144 square inches (929 cm2) of usable floor space per hen).
January 2022: Minimum usable floorspace requirements went into effect for egg-laying hens (shell eggs and liquid eggs, cage-free requirement) and breeding pigs (whole pork meat).
September 2022: Shipping documents accompanying covered products transported into or within California must have required markings for the respective covered product.
January 2023: Distributors are required to be registered with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
January 2024: Producers and distributors are required to be third-party certified.
How is Proposition 12 enforced?
There are two parts of Proposition 12 to enforce, the first is for farmers in the State to ensure their farms meet the new standards, the second is on animal products entering the State to ensure they are meeting the new standards.
This compliance is done by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to issue certificates to show compliance.
An Animal Care Program (ACP) was set up within the Animal Health and Food Safety Services division of the CDFA to implement Proposition 12. The ACP ensures compliance of domestic and foreign production and distribution operations with California’s Health and Safety Code and Animal Confinement Regulations by issuing certificates of compliance. These can be issued by the CDFA itself, a certifying agent accredited by CDFA, or a recognised government entity.
Accredited agents are then responsible for ensuring compliance with these standards typically through an initial on-site inspection and then subsequently through yearly inspections of each production unit, facility, and site that produces or distributes covered products.
Distributors of animal products concerned by the law are required to register with the CDFA by submitting a valid third-party certification, which must be renewed annually.
Retail locations, food processors or restaurants who sell covered products operate under a good-faith reliance rule if they receive a written certification of compliance from their distributors. This means they are only liable for the sale of non-Proposition 12 compliant products if they knowingly allow the sale of non-certified products.
How did Proposition 12 affect food prices?
An analysis of an economist, Angel Rubio, showed that after Proposition 12 took effect, the price increase per carton of eggs was just $0.08 (USD) per dozen wholesale in California between 2020 (when a requirement of 144 square inches per bird went into effect) and 2022 (when cage-free mandate went into effect).
According to industry scientists, it would cost merely 3-4 pennies per pound for pork producers to eliminate sow stalls. National Hog Farmer reported in February 2024 that the “market has fully adjusted to Prop 12,” and a March market report in swineweb stated in March 2024 that “[i]ncreased pork production and the impact of California’s Prop 12 restrictions taking effect were expected to exert a negative impact on prices but that has not happened.”
What are the limitations of Proposition 12?
Proposition 12’s confinement requirements are limited to sales of uncooked “whole pork meat” and “whole veal meat” meaning that processed products like ground pork and prepared foods like soups, sandwiches, and pizzas where meat is one of several ingredients, are excluded from the scope of the law. Around 58% of pork consumed in California is whole pork, leaving 42% out of the scope.
Similarly, egg requirements are limited to products with eggs as the main ingredient, excluding prepared food products like pancake mixes and cookies from the scope.
Has Proposition 12 been challenged?
Following the successful ballot, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), unsatisfied with the result, argued that Proposition 12 was unconstitutional. They tried to get the law overturned, but without success. Finally, the NPPC appealed to the United States Supreme Court claiming that Proposition 12 violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 12 is constitutional and upheld the law.
The industry’s primary claim was that Proposition 12 is unconstitutional because of its indirect ‘extraterritorial’ effects on out-of-state pork producers, but the US Supreme Court unanimously (9-0) rejected it - saying that the state could establish its own rules on meat sold in the state, even if that means that products produced outside of the state must comply with the law.
The industry’s secondary claim was that the benefits of Proposition 12 to California residents do not outweigh the economic burdens imposed on out-of-state pork producers, but a majority of the Court (5-4) rejected the claim - saying that out-of-state producers have other options, designating some of their operations for sale in California, while not complying with Proposition 12 in other parts of their operations.
No challenge to Proposition 12 was ever made under the World Trade Organization Rules.
What is the impact of Proposition 12?
Despite some limitations in the scope of the law, Proposition 12 has significantly reduced the suffering of millions of chickens, pigs, and calves. It has set another crucial precedent for upholding citizens’ values for better animal welfare by ensuring that animal protection laws are also applied to imported products.
Proposition 12 has been a case study for similar laws in other states in the US. After California, six states passed legislation banning the sale of eggs from cage facilities: Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Proposition 12 together with similar laws in other states build an important precedent for other regions in the world to follow. Californians understood that it is unsustainable to raise animal welfare standards without requiring imports to meet them too. Other nations whose citizens care about animal welfare should follow suit and require imports to meet better standards to safeguard society’s values and ensure a level playing field for farmers.
Other States with Sales Bans on Caged Eggs
The following states ban the sale of eggs from hens kept in battery cages, effectively requiring all eggs sold in-state to be cage-free (regardless of origin). These laws often phase in cage-free requirements and apply to shell eggs (and in some cases egg products) sold within the state:
Massachusetts (MA) – A 2016 ballot measure banned the use of battery cages in-state and the sale of eggs from caged hens by 2022. Implementation was slightly delayed to January 2023 due to pending court challenges. An update in 2021 clarified space requirements and extended the sales ban to egg products as well.
Colorado (CO) – Legislation in 2020 requires cage-free housing for hens by 2025 and bans the sale of eggs from caged systems as of January 1, 2025.
Nevada (NV) – A 2021 law mandates cage-free egg production by 2024 and prohibits the in-state sale of eggs from battery-cage facilities.
Oregon (OR) – A 2019 law in Oregon phases out battery cages and bans the sale of eggs from caged systems by 2024.
Washington (WA) – Legislation in 2019 built on an earlier cage-free mandate to ban the sale of eggs from caged hens by 2024. Washington had begun phasing out battery cage egg production in 2011, with the sales ban ensuring all eggs sold from 2024 are cage-free.
Michigan (MI) – Michigan’s 2019 update to its animal welfare law extended the cage-free deadline and added a sales ban: by December 2025, it will be illegal to sell eggs from hens housed in battery cages in Michigan. (Michigan originally passed a cage ban in 2009, but this extension gave producers more time while committing to end sales of caged eggs by 2025.)
Arizona (AZ) – In 2022, Arizona adopted regulations to phase out battery cages and, by 2025, ban the sale of eggs from caged-hen operations.
States with Sales Bans on Pork from Pigs in Crates
Only a couple of states so far have extended their laws to ban the sale of pork from breeding pigs kept in gestation crates (small stalls that prevent sows from turning around):
California (CA) – Proposition 12 (2018) made California the first state to ban the sale of pork that does not meet its new space standards for breeding pigs. As of 2024, whole pork cuts (bacon, chops, loins, etc.) sold in California must come from sows given at least 24 sq. ft. of space (effectively banning traditional gestation crates). This sales ban was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023, after a legal challenge by pork producers.
Massachusetts (MA) – The 2016 voter-approved law (Question 3) similarly prohibits the sale of pork in Massachusetts if the sow was confined in a gestation crate (or if the meat comes from the immediate offspring of a crated sow). This requirement was slated to begin in 2022, and after some delay, it took effect in August 2023. Massachusetts’ standards for sow housing are nearly identical to California’s (providing enough space for the pig to turn and extend limbs) and apply to any whole pork products sold in the state
References
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