California law limiting the caging of livestock passes, may spread to other states

California voters on Tuesday passed Proposition 2, which bans the confinement of egg-laying chickens, veal calves and pregnant pigs. Bob Burgdorfer of Reuters says this could have significant ramifications for the national egg industry. In California, egg producers see the costs of conforming their operations to the new law as an impossible hurdle.

It is believed that the campaign against the confinement of livestock will eventually spread to other states. It seems unlikely that the Humane Society, which spearheaded the effort in California, will be content to only pass legislation in one state. "California often is a bellwether state, so it's likely this ban will be pushed in other states, said Bryan Black, president of the National Pork Producers Council. Burgdorfer reports the American Farm Bureau and the state's egg industry argue the law will increase costs to produce eggs, which likely will have consumers buying less expensive eggs shipped in from other states."

While Proposition 2 limits caging of veal calves, California has little if any veal production. But its passage makes veal producers worry. Chip Lines, president of the American Veal Association told Reuters, "We certainly hope we don't see more of these measures on the ballot in other states, but the animal activists have a lot more money than the American veal farmer."