Originally appeared in meatingplace
Americans are losing sleep over the cost of food. A July Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that two-thirds of adults describe groceries as “unaffordable”—up more than 20 points since February. Candidates for public office should be concerned about the sour sentiment ahead of November but so too should the animal activist crowd. The products they endorse carry the steepest price premiums.
Despite consumer anxiety over prices, activists are doubling down. During a recent animal rights conference, a presenter revealed a plan to raise the cost of animal protein even more. The lecture focused on polling conducted late last year that found public opposition to common farming practices. Think keeping chickens indoors (to protect from bird flu) or the temporary confinement of pigs (to mitigate piglets from being squashed).
The survey language is misleading and, therefore, the results do not honestly reflect American opinion. The polling questions conveniently fail to mention the reasoning behind such protocols and the verbiage omits that these methods are largely supported by veterinarians.
The information, however, is valuable in another way: It’s a rough roadmap showing what animal rights activists plan to do next. It confirms that California’s Proposition 12, which bans the sale of non-cage-free eggs and pork produced with the use of individual maternity pens, was just the opening act. Outdoor access seems to be next.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is among the organizations moving the goalposts. The group recently issued a supermarket guide for consumers on what kind of animal protein to buy. The ASPCA only endorsed pasture-based systems, while also admitting that very little animal protein produced today actually meets these requirements. In fact, 99% of poultry doesn’t satisfy the ASPCA’s standards.
Allowing animal rights activists—many of whom don’t even eat meat—to dictate farming practices is not sustainable for family budgets. Not everyone can afford expensive Whole Foods grocery carts. Veterinarians and farmers should be calling the shots. So what’s the solution?
The Farm Bill passed by the House in April contains a Prop 12 “fix” that prevents states from banning the sale of meat produced lawfully in other states. California might one day mandate that farmers within its own borders only use super costly free-range systems, but it shouldn’t be able to demand that of farmers everywhere else.
The overwhelming majority of voters are waiting on the Senate to act. However, in response to Washington’s slow pace addressing this bipartisan issue, some local governments are taking their own initiative.
Smart policymaking at the state level could protect rural economies and consumers from the overreach of places like California where animal activists hold the puppet strings. North Carolina lawmakers are considering putting a “right to farm” constitutional amendment to voters this fall. And in 2021, Maine became the first state where voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing a right to food.
Obviously, how these measures are crafted matters greatly. But generally speaking, with food costs on everyone’s mind, this is the direction that many voters have an appetite for. Hopefully the U.S. Senate does too.