U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins made it clear that she is not a fan of California’s Proposition 12 law, calling it “oppressive” and saying that it “cannot be allowed to continue.”
Rollins made those comments on January 12 during a visit to the state where that very law was implemented. Rollins was a speaker at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual convention in Anaheim, California.
Proposition 12, which requires that all eggs produced and sold in the state must be produced while using cage-free laying systems and all pork produced and sold in the state must come from farms that do not use gestation crates.
Opponents of the measure have traditionally said it violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution and assert that the law forces farmers in other states to change their production practices. Rollins agrees with that assessment.
“California, not surprisingly, has gone rogue and caused real pain to consumers and to our farmers under its pork confinement restrictions and cage-free egg commitments,” she said.
“This war against consumer choice and against our farmers forces Californians and those who receive those goods across the country to buy more expensive eggs and pork. California's actions under Proposition 12 fly in the face of federal jurisdiction and regulation over food production and safety, such as the Egg Products Inspection Act.”
Rollins said if California chooses to pass laws that affect only California, that is fine. But it’s another matter “when those laws affect other states in violation of our United States Constitution.”
It is one thing if California passes laws that affect only its own state, but it is another when those laws affect other states in violation of our United States Constitution.
Rollins, whose comments opposing Proposition 12 drew applause from the Farm Bureau audience, said the fight against the law are not over. She explained that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of California, its governor and its attorney general in opposition to Proposition 12.
“These oppressive actions cannot be allowed to continue,” she said.
