Arlington, Va. – This week, the Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW) released the findings of a new poll suggesting that California voters regret the passage of Proposition 12, a ballot initiative first approved in 2018.
Since taking effect in 2022, the measure has limited the selection of eggs and pork that can be sold in California supermarkets to high-cost specialty products. The only California-compliant options available to consumers are Whole Foods-style products.
“California egg prices have nearly tripled and pork prices have increased by as much as 40 percent since Prop 12 went into effect,” said Will Coggin, research director at CEW. “It should come as no surprise that California voters regret passing Prop 12, which continues to receive strong bipartisan pushback. In fact, concern about Prop 12 is one of the few things Presidents Trump and Biden agree on.”
The CEW poll is part of the think tank’s ongoing “Food Price Fix” campaign, launched this month to educate voters and lawmakers about Prop 12 and its role in driving up grocery bills in California and across the country.
The campaign comes at a time when nearly half of California voters feel worse off economically than they were last year, and 54 percent feel less hopeful about their finances.
Key results from the CEW poll of registered California voters include:
- 60 percent of respondents support a legislative fix to the misguided egg and pork restriction in order to lower prices;
- If a new vote were to be held today, the food regulation would fail to gain enough support to become law, drawing only 35 percent support.