The other case involved the U.S. pork industry in its second attempt to ask the court to overturn California’s animal welfare law known as Proposition 12. Prop. 12 is controversial because its requirements for housing mother pigs approved by California voters apply to pork producers in other states, if they want to sell their meat in California. The law has been the subject of ongoing attempts by the pork industry to stall or overturn it, but more than a year after it went into full effect, Civil Eats’ reporting found that many large producers have already complied with the law, and Prop. 12 may also be helping smaller producers reach new markets.

Today, the Supreme Court denied the Iowa Pork Producers’ Association’s petition to take up the case once again. In 2022, the court heard a different case brought by the National Pork Producers Council challenging Prop. 12, and their 2023 ruling left the law in place. The pork industry is also lobbying Congress to pass legislation that would overturn the law. (Link to this post.)