For decades, independent scientists have been working to expose how the federal government fails to protect citizens from unsafe meat and eggs. Well over 1 million Americans fall ill annually due to salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens in animal products. Now, in a distressing turn of events, the Biden administration has sided with Big Pork in an effort to prevent states from enacting common-sense standards to protect their residents. We urge the administration to change course before more Americans are sickened by unsafe ham, bacon, chops and other forms of pork.
The issue stems from a 2018 California ballot measure, Proposition 12, aimed at preventing the sale within the state of meat and eggs produced in cruel and unsafe ways. Much of the pork and eggs sold in the U.S. comes from industrial factory farms that confine animals in cages so small they can barely move. Proposition 12 requires that for those items to be produced or sold in California, they must come from facilities that give animals a bit more space. The initiative was backed by animal protection groups, the Center for Food Safety, and hundreds of other nonprofits, experts and faith leaders, and it passed with overwhelming support from voters. While many producers changed their practices to comply with the new law, some multinational pork corporations have sued repeatedly to overturn it so they can continue to keep mother pigs in cages so small they can’t turn around. Now the producers’ challenge to Proposition 12 is in front of the Supreme Court.
Corporations that confine animals in highly restrictive cages in crowded production facilities create the ideal breeding ground for dangerous bacteria and viruses. These pathogens spread and mutate, ultimately threatening people in two ways: through direct transmission to workers in factory farms or slaughterhouses and through food poisoning. This isn’t just theoretical; the 2009 swine flu killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. And each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans become ill from consuming pork alone.
