Support for EATS Act Ramps Up

Opposition to the disastrous EATS Act has ramped up this month, as various groups converged on Washington in recent weeks to express dismay at the potential dangers of this ill-conceived legislation.

In early September, a new coalition of crate-free pork producers, retailers, and hog farmers from across the country joined forces and held a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The group also held Congressional meetings and shared their concerns with lawmakers about how this bill would undermine small farms and the will of the American people, who want stronger animal welfare laws.

An ultra-conservative national advocacy mom’s group with half a million members also held a series of Congressional meetings to lobby lawmakers to reject the bill. This may seem like an unlikely opposition force to this Republican-led legislation; however, the group argues the bill would undermine states' rights and increase the monopoly power of Chinese multinational food companies like Smithfield.

Just three companies, Smithfield, JBS, and Tyson, control 63% of U.S. pork production.

The EATS Act was designed as a spiteful response to California’s Proposition 12, a law upheld by the United States Supreme Court, which bans the extreme confinement of mother pigs in crates so small they cannot even turn around. These cruel cages, often referred to as sow stalls, are the norm with giant, immoral pork operations, and corrupt lawmakers would rather protect these monopolistic organizations' bottom line than respect individual states' rights to set higher animal welfare standards.

The widespread resistance to this bill, which has brought together a broad range of interest groups that normally disagree on key issues, has inspired 230 bipartisan members of Congress to express opposition to the legislation, offering hope that this potentially catastrophic bill can be defeated.