Solicitor General to Review Cases Challenging State Agriculture Laws
According to NPPC, the first case – Missouri v. California – “challenges a law approved in 2010 by the California Legislature that bans the sale in the state of out-of-state eggs produced from laying hens housed in so-called battery cages.” It said that California voters in 2008 banned such cages, as well as housing used for sows and veal calves. An initiative on this year’s state ballot would extend the out-of-state sales ban to pork and veal.)
“The second case – Indiana v. Massachusetts – contests Massachusetts’ ban on the sale of out-of-state pork, veal and eggs from animals raised in housing systems prohibited by the state,” the NPPC release said. “In both cases, the plaintiffs argue that the state statute violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which prohibits – in most instances – states from regulating interstate commerce.”
NPPC opposed California’s 2008 ballot initiative and the Massachusetts ballot initiative, which the state’s voters approved in 2016. NPPC encouraged Missouri and Indiana to challenge the sales bans on out-of-state meat and eggs.
