Since 2002, 14 states have implemented policies addressing farm animal welfare, with the most common banning confinement practices in the pork, egg and veal industries or prohibiting the sale of products from noncompliant operations, according to a new USDA report.
While most national meat production occurs outside of the states enacting animal welfare legislation, retail sales restriction policies apply to all products sold within a state, including those imported from states without similar production laws.
Eleven states have passed bans on the use of veal crates or sow gestation crates. By 2026, gestation crate bans will directly cover over 7% of the U.S. breeding sow herd but nearly 18% of breeding operations. Veal crate bans will cover over 13% of U.S. operations by the end of 2022.
Ten states have enacted policies that prohibit the confinement of hens beyond a minimum space requirement or the use of cages in poultry and egg production. By 2026, 17% of U.S. egg-laying operations will be covered by these restrictions, an increase from about 3% of operations in 2021. Sales bans on eggs produced in noncompliant operations will reach nearly 25% of the U.S. population by 2026.
More states could follow
The report, from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), notes that legal challenges and legislative efforts in response to state animal welfare policies have been largely unsuccessful. Continuing policy efforts in other states, along with the success of ballot initiatives, indicate prospects are strong for additional state regulations similar in nature to those already in place, the ERS said. In addition, recently proposed policies are beginning to target the dairy and beef industries, which thus far have received less attention than the pork and poultry industries.
Shifts in international animal welfare policies and production increase the potential availability of compliant products for states with retail sales restrictions, the ERS added.
Proposition 12
California’s Proposition 12 ban on in-state sales of products from noncompliant operations was scheduled to begin in January 2022, but enforcement has been delayed until six months after regulations are finalized. Costly facility conversion expenses and concerns about post-implementation reduced productivity slowed producer response to the ban.
The ERS report said prior research using estimates of 18% productivity losses in converted systems due to reduced stocking capacity, coupled with a $225 per stall conversion cost, found that converting a farrow-to-finish system away from gestation stalls resulted in a $1.15 annualized investment cost per finished pig.
That research estimated a 3- to 4-cent increase, or about 8.7%, in the per-pound cost of producing finished hogs in a gestation stall-free system compared with a gestation stall system.
Other research has estimated that retail pork prices in California will increase, 7.7%, reducing demand by 6.3% and resulting in an annual loss of $320 million in economic benefits for consumers, the ERS said.
Massachusetts was similarly set to impose a retail sales ban on pork from confinement operations not in compliance with state law in 2022, but enforcement was suspended to begin 30 days after the Supreme Court ruling on the suit filed by the National Pork Producers Council and American Farm Bureau Federation against California’s Proposition 12. The court’s hearing was scheduled to start Oct. 11, 2022.
