While proponents of property rights were celebrating two unanimous victories at the United States Supreme Court in May, another ruling that month garnered little attention. Yet, it could have an impact as far reaching as Tyler v. Hennepin County and Sackett v. EPA. The Court upheld a California law that prohibits the sale of pork in the state unless the animals from which it was derived were housed under specific space requirements. Pig farmers fear that other states will follow suit, and they will face enormous costs to meet the requirements or go out of business. In either case, consumers will see higher prices for pork chops.
According to Fox News, supporters of the California law say “that greater awareness of ethical farming practices is fairly driving market practices.” If that is true, then the law would not be necessary. If concern about “ethical farming practices” were truly driving the market, then pig farmers would voluntarily engage in those practices. Government coercion would not be necessary.
The animal “rights” activists behind the law believe that they know better than pig farmers what constitutes “ethical farming practices.” A fourth-generation pig farmer in Iowa told Fox that his company employs methods to “protect the health and comfort of the animals that we care for.” He knows far more about the proper care of pigs than the activists who value pigs more than humans.
And don’t think for a nanosecond that the activists behind this law care about the well-being of human beings. They don’t care that their policies will cause families to pay more for their food. They don’t care that they threaten the livelihood of pig farmers.
No rational person condones animal cruelty and abuse. And no rational farmer would abuse his animals. He will provide his animals with the optimal conditions for his purpose. But what he judges to be optimal conditions doesn’t matter to the activists. They think that they know better. They are willing to use government coercion to “prove” it. Higher prices for pork chops will be the result.