Ample sunshine and quite nice..
The Supreme Court is seen at sunset in Washington, on Jan. 24, 2019. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Oct. 11, 2022, over a California animal cruelty law that could raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide.
The Supreme Court is seen at sunset in Washington, on Jan. 24, 2019. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Oct. 11, 2022, over a California animal cruelty law that could raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear arguments over a California animal cruelty law that could raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide.
The case’s outcome is important to the nation’s $26-billion-a-year pork industry, but the outcome could also limit states’ ability to pass laws with impact outside their borders, from laws aimed at combating climate change to others intended to regulate prescription drug prices.
The case before the court on Tuesday involves California's Proposition 12, which voters passed in 2018. It said that pork sold in the state needs to come from pigs whose mothers were raised with at least 24 square feet of space, including the ability to lie down and turn around. That rules out the confined “gestation crates," metal enclosures that are common in the pork industry.
Two industry groups, the Iowa-based National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation, sued over the proposition. They say that while Californians consume 13% of the pork eaten in the United States, nearly 100% of it comes from hogs raised outside the state, primarily where the industry is concentrated in the Midwest and North Carolina. The vast majority of sows, meanwhile, aren't raised under conditions that would meet Proposition 12's standards.
The question for the high court is whether California has impermissibly burdened the pork market and improperly regulated an industry outside its borders.
Pork producers argue that 72% of farmers use individual pens for sows that don't allow them to turn around and that even farmers who house sows in larger group pens don't provide the space California would require.
They also say that the way the pork market works, with cuts of meat from various producers being combined before sale, it's likely all pork would have to meet California standards, regardless of where it's sold. Complying with Proposition 12 could cost the industry $290 million to $350 million, they say.
So far, lower courts have sided with California and animal-welfare groups that had supported the proposition. But for a number of reasons the law has yet to go into effect.
The Biden administration, for its part, is urging the justices to side with pork producers. The administration says Proposition 12 would be a “wholesale change in how pork is raised and marketed in this country.” And it says the proposition has "thrown a giant wrench into the workings of the interstate market in pork."
California's Proposition 12 also covers other animals. It says egg-laying hens and calves being raised for veal need to be raised in conditions in which they have enough room to lie down, stand up and turn around freely. Those parts of the law aren't at issue in the case.
The case is National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, 21-468.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.
- The Palmer Township Board of Supervisors denied a conditional use for two warehouses proposed by developer Abe Atiyeh.
- B. Braun bought Starboard Medical's Clif-FIX line of devices that secure catheters for an undisclosed price.
- The Lowhill Township Planning Commission denied a plan for a warehouse at 7503 Kernsville Road, saying it would change the character of the rural township.
- Just A Dream Frozen Yogurt in Forks Township closed its doors after 10 years.
- Khanisa's Pudding Bar held a grand opening at its new Downtown Allentown Market location after having moved from Easton.
- Mussel Polymers Inc. says its glue for bonding carbon and synthetic fibers is a big step toward creating lighter and stronger fiber-reinforced materials.
- Poke Bar 25 & Bubble Tea in the Shops at Bethlehem (the Giant shopping center on Easton Avenue in Bethlehem Township, on the border with the City of Bethlehem) will open in late November or early December.
- The former Rosanna's Restaurant in Bethlehem, which closed in February, will reopen as a deli and bar called Rosa's Corner.
- Victaulic has expanded in Tennessee with the acquisition of Tennessee Metal Fabricating, price not disclosed.
- The old Forks Diner will be serving auto-repair customers by early spring of 2023 with a six-bay garage known as Wrenchtec.
- Lehigh County-based Shift4 Payments stepped in to help the owners of Better on the Bone Butcher and Deli in Pottstown finally open their doors.
- Mid Penn Bank opened a new, bigger location in Blue Bell.
- Balloon Junction held a grand opening in Pottsville for its store offering custom balloon creations.
- Rentschler's Ice Cream has reopened just a few doors down from its former location in Ringtown after it was destroyed by a fire in February.
- Mill Street Aesthetics, a day spa and skincare boutique, held a grand opening in Belvidere, New Jersey.
- Provident Financial Services agreed to acquire Lakeland Bancorp in a stock deal valued at $1.3 billion, creating a bank that will hold 4% of the deposits in New Jersey.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.