WASHINGTON—Humane World for Animals, formerly called Humane Society of the United States, and Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society Legislative Fund, issued the following statement on the introduction of the Food Security and Farm Protection Act in the United States Senate.
“This bill is a warmed-over successor to the EATS Act and it too seeks to nullify a slew of state laws concerning animal welfare and public health standards tied to the production and sale of animal products within a state’s own borders,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of Humane World for Animals. “It would wreak havoc, punishing the thousands of farmers and producers who have rightly embraced higher animal welfare standards and made substantial investments to meet consumer demand. It would also tie states’ hands from addressing emerging issues such as disease risks.”
“The Food Security and Farm Protection Act doesn’t protect animals, consumers or states’ rights,” said Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund. “This bill would hand over sweeping power to a narrow segment of the agriculture industry, overriding the will of voters, dismantling state laws and eliminating hard-won voter-supported protections for the humane treatment of farm animals, food safety and farm workers. Let’s be clear: this is a federal overreach that serves Big Pork, not the American people.”
Introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the bill aims to strike down California’s Proposition 12, a landmark animal welfare and food safety law passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. If passed, the bill would not only nullify Prop 12—it could also jeopardize over a thousand other state laws covering everything from animal welfare to child labor, environmental protection and disease control. It’s a direct assault on state authority and local decision-making.
The push for a so-called “fix” to Prop 12 has been driven by a small group of pork industry lobbyists, even though 15 states—red, blue and purple—have adopted laws addressing intensive animal confinement in our food system.
“This bill is bad policy and even worse precedent,” Amundson added. “It would create chaos in our food system and weaken laws that reflect the values of the American people.”