Dear Friend,
Have you heard of the EATS Act? Sounds like a worthwhile effort to get Americans to eat
healthier, right? The acronym stands for “Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression,” and this proposed act is an important piece of legislation for independent farmers and ranchers. That's because the EATS Act has the potential to change certain state food and agricultural laws.
The proposed EATS Act is part of 2023 Farm Bill federal legislation and seeks to use federal law to override the ability of individual states to regulate health, food safety, and humane standards for the in-state production and sale of various food products.
The proposed EATS Act would prohibit any state condition or standard to be imposed on the pre-harvest production of any agricultural product and permits anyone “affected” by such sate law the ability to sue in federal court.
The EATS Act was introduced as a reaction to the pork industry’s efforts to declare unconstitutional a California law (Proposition 12) that that bans the sale of pork in California from animals raised in violation of the state's animal confinement standards.
Many in the pork producing industry have argued that the California law would prevent pork producers in other states, without similar animal production standards, from selling their products in California, resulting in an unfair disadvantage to those sellers. Yet, most sustainable and regenerative farmers and ranchers, many of them FTCLDF members, have already adopted more humane conditions for their livestock.
Perhaps more important than the California law itself, is that the EATS Act could limit states or local governments from regulating any standards or conditions of “preharvest” agricultural products, including state laws that benefit smaller independent farmers and ranchers.
Some producers, however, view the California standards as burdensome and are concerned about the potential for the passage of similar laws in other states. So, they and legislators that support them, have introduced the EATS Act to limit states’ and local governments the ability to set standards on the production of agricultural products sold in interstate commerce, when those standards would be at odds with those of other states or the federal government.
What Are Your Thoughts on the EATS Act?
FTCLDF wants to hear its members’ opinion on this proposed law. What do you think of the EATS Act? Do you think states should be free to set agricultural standards for products sold in their state regardless of their impacts on out-of-state producers? Or, do you think states’ ability to pass such laws needs to be constrained? Read the full text of proposed EATS Act here.
