Mon, 05 Dec 2022 10:08:33 CST
Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is visiting with the Chief Legal Strategist for the National Pork Producer’s Council, Michael Formica, as he gives an update on California’s Proposition 12 and how it impacts more than just the pork industry.
Nearing the end of phase one of the Proposition 12 debate, Formica said the goal is not only to discard Proposition 12, but also to ensure that similar ballot initiatives do not come up in the future.
“So, we will get a decision from the Supreme Court,” Formica said. “I think we are in pretty good shape, but you never know until they rule. Once that happens, we will likely be sent back down to a lower court where we will have a trial over Proposition 12, hopefully with a test from the Supreme Court that this lower court will apply, and then future courts will also be able to apply that.”
As other animal rights challenges appear, Formica said hopefully, there will be clear instructions from the Supreme Court on how to handle those.
Because implementing Proposition 12 would take protein off the market in California, Formica said many Californians have concerns.
“They not only love to eat pork, but they love to eat pork as the basis for nutrition for their family in California,” Formica said. “It is difficult for farmers; it is really a human rights issue in California if you can’t feed your family.”
The main concern with Proposition 12, Formica said, is that it introduces the question of if California can reach out across the country and tell farmers who have no connection to California how to run their farms.
Formica also talked about what stood out most to him during Proposition 12 discussions.
“I think the thing that was most interesting to me was, especially with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson- so, the newest Justice to the court, she was replacing Justice Stephen Breyer, who was very liberal from California,” Formica said. “We had an expectation she was going to be liberal, but she came across as almost the most hostile to this.”
Across the board, Formica said none of the Justices seemed eager to be in a situation with moral battles going on between states.
“Justice Kagan said we need to lower the temperature in this country,” Formica said. “We can’t have states fighting over all sorts of battles. You can do what you want to do in your state, but when you leave your state, you can’t tell people who live elsewhere how to live their lives.”
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