A recently proposed amendment to the House farm bill would limit the ability of states to regulate animal farming and would drastically reduce their ability to enforce humane farming standards, animal rights groups argue.
For the past several years, animal rights have become an increasingly important issue in federal and state farm policy. With animal rights activists producing and distributing a series of controversial videos documenting chronic animal abuse in factory farms, several agricultural states have moved to tighten animal rights legislation and raise farm standards.
California has become the epicenter of this debate. In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 2, which mandated that calves in veal farms, egg-laying hens, and pregnant pigs have enough room in their pens to stand and move freely.
Some agricultural politicians have decried this legislation, claiming that it will increase costs for American farmers and will raise prices for consumers.
Iowa Representative Steve King recently introduced an amendment to the 2013 Farm Bill that would seriously undercut efforts to regulate animal welfare on the state level. The Protect Interstate Commerce Act would ban states from imposing farm product regulations that are tougher than laws mandated by other states, essentially preventing states from imposing almost any regulations and undoing any humane farming legislation at a state level.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer