U.S. House Agriculture Committee Holds Hearing on Proposition 12

ASPCA, farmers urge Congress to preserve state animal protection laws, and reject any efforts to overturn them in the Farm Bill

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In advance of today's U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing on Proposition 12, the ASPCA^® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals^®) and farmers from across the country are calling on Congress to protect state animal protection laws that have improved the lives of millions of farm animals and created important markets for higher-welfare farmers committed to meeting the demand for more humane products. Congress must keep the dangerous Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act – recently reintroduced in the Senate as the Food Security and Farm Protection Act (S.1326) – out of the upcoming Farm Bill. If passed, the EATS Act would condemn millions of farm animals to extreme confinement in cages and crates, threaten the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, and steamroll states' rights to pass laws protecting people and animals.

Americans have no appetite for cruelty, which is why 15 states, including Arizona, Michigan and Colorado, have passed laws and regulations banning one or more forms of extreme confinement that prevent basic freedom of movement. Farmers and food companies of all sizes have enthusiastically met public demand for more humane products, as illustrated by the successful implementation of Proposition 12, and the fact that nearly half of all eggs produced in the U.S. are now cage-free.

The EATS Act and similar attempts to overturn state laws are a direct response to the success of animal welfare reforms like Proposition 12, which challenge industrial agriculture's cruel status quo. Americans overwhelmingly agree that animals raised for food should be free from suffering and they want more access to higher-welfare, cage and crate-free products. Rather than attempting to overturn popular, commonsense animal protection laws, Congress should focus on providing farmers with the funding and resources they need to transition to more humane and healthy farming systems.

"Contrary to the narrative being pushed by industrial agriculture interests at today's hearing – which notably excluded the voices of independent farmers – there are thousands of farmers across the country who support and depend on commonsense bans against the cruel confinement of farm animals," said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA President & CEO. "We encourage Congress to listen to these farmers and protect state laws like Proposition 12 which create vital market opportunities for higher-welfare farming that align with the values of the American public."

Since there are predominantly agricultural trade groups testifying in today's hearing, the ASPCA gathered perspectives on "the implications of Proposition 12" from farmers across the country who are raising animals with healthy, higher-welfare practices:

"The playing field is already stacked against small, independent livestock producers, many of whom are invested in higher-welfare, sustainable systems that meet state animal housing requirements," said Michael Kovach, owner of Walnut Hill Farm in Sharpsville, Penn. and President of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union. "Overturning Prop 12 and other state animal protection laws would be an unprecedented federal overreach that takes power away from states and hands it directly to industrial agriculture, harming countless independent and Family Farmers in the process."

"For our family farm, Proposition 12 isn't a burden, it's an opportunity," shared Trisha Zachman, of Feathered Acres Farm in Belgrade, Minn. Trisha and her family raise crate-free pigs that they sell both locally and into national markets through the natural meat brand Niman Ranch. "The stable market for crate-free pork through markets like California helps farms like ours stay viable. Rolling back Proposition 12 wouldn't just hurt the animals; it would hurt farms like ours that are already meeting these humane standards."

"Here in Iowa, industrial confinement operations may dominate pork production, but our customers make it clear that they want to buy pork from farmers who farm with animal welfare in mind," said Anna Pesek, owner of Over the Moon Farm in Coggon, Iowa. "With the recent cuts to vital federal programs like the Local Food Promotion Program, Prop 12 and similar state laws that open up market opportunities for smaller, higher-welfare pig farmers like myself are more important than ever. If Prop 12 is overturned, it sends a message that there's no room in the system for anything but the industrial status quo, and that hurts farmers who are trying to do better by their animals, their land, and their communities."

"At White Oak Pastures, we raise animals in a way that allows them to express their instinctive behaviors—rooting, pecking, grazing—because that's what animal welfare truly means," said Will Harris, fourth-generation farmer and owner of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Ga. "Overturning Prop 12 would reward confinement systems that strip animals of those instincts, penalize farmers like me who've built regenerative operations based on dignity for the land and the animals, and put our country on a harmful downward trajectory towards more industrial agriculture."

"Overturning Prop 12 and laws like it across the country would be a huge blow for farmers like me who are committed to higher-welfare, pasture-based systems," said Jody Osmund, Owner of Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm in Ottawa, Ill. "State confinement bans raise awareness of better, more ethically raised meat and egg options, which results in consumers demanding and willing to pay more for food that they can feel good about, raised by farmers they trust. Pre-empting state laws that build integrity in the food system will hurt consumers, farmers, and small businesses across the country – all to benefit a handful of mega food corporations concerned only with maximizing shareholder value."

The EATS Act, and other incarnations of it, are an unprecedented federal assault on the rights of states to pass their own laws related to the production or sale of agricultural products, and this dangerous legislation has no place in the Farm Bill. 

Members of the public are encouraged to contact their U.S. senators and representatives to urge them to keep the EATS Act and anything like it out of the Farm Bill. For more information, please visit www.aspca.org/eatsact.

About the ASPCA^®
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA^® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals^®) was the first animal welfare organization to be established in North America and today serves as the nation's leading voice for vulnerable and victimized animals. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with more than two million supporters nationwide, the ASPCA is committed to preventing cruelty to dogs, cats, equines, and farm animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA assists animals in need through on-the-ground disaster and cruelty interventions, behavioral rehabilitation, animal placement, legal and legislative advocacy, and the advancement of the sheltering and veterinary community through research, training, and resources. For more information, visit aspca.org, and follow the ASPCA on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

SOURCE ASPCA