Grassley: Proposition 12 will deal “major blow” to pork producers, pork consumers in Iowa

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTIV) - Iowa’s senior senator says to expect even higher prices at the grocery store if a California law, which was upheld last week by the U.S. Supreme Court, is allowed to stay on the books.

Republican Charles Grassley says California Proposition 12 will dictate how pork sold in California can be raised in Iowa.

Proposition 12 says pork sold in California needs to come from pigs whose mothers were raised with at least 24 square feet of space, with the ability to lie down and turn around. Pork producers argue more than 70-percent of farmers use individual pens for sows that don’t have enough space to turn around.

Grassley insists the new regulations will add costs to consumers. “As Justice Gorsuch wrote in the courts majority opinion, Congress has the power to regulate commerce, but has yet to adopt a statute to displace Proposition 12,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, (R) Iowa. “So we can overturn that decision in the Congress of the United States. I’m working with my colleagues on a bill to reverse the effects of Proposition 12 and put an end to California’s war on breakfast.”

With the reauthorization of the farm bill this year, Grassley says Congress has an opportunity to weigh in by overturning Proposition 12.

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