WASHINGTON — Direct-to-consumer meat brand ButcherBox is reigniting its advocacy for voter-approved animal welfare laws like California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3 following the introduction of the Food Security and Farm Protection Act.

In April, a group of senators introduced the bill, which would prohibit state and local governments from impeding commerce and agriculture production in other states. One of the authors of the legislation, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), said Prop 12 was a primary reason for pushing the bill.

“Proposition 12 is dangerous and arbitrary overregulation that stands in direct opposition to the livelihoods of Iowa pork producers, increases costs for both farmers and consumers, and jeopardizes our nation’s food security,” she said with the announcement of the Food Security and Farm Protection Act. “I’m proud to be leading the charge to strike down this harmful measure and will keep fighting to make sure the voices of the farmers and experts who know best — not liberal California activists — are heard.”

Before the Food Security and Farm Protection Act, Congress attempted to put an end to Prop 12 through different legislation — the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. The bill challenged state animal confinement laws even after the Supreme Court upheld Prop 12.

ButcherBox was part of a coalition of pork companies that opposed the EATS Act. Along with ButcherBox, leading organizers of the coalition included crate-free pork companies True Story Foods and Niman Ranch.

“This new act is designed to hide the same destructive agenda and seeks to overturn hard-won progress in animal welfare and strip away states’ rights to set food safety standards,” ButcherBox said. “Today, we’re reactivating our industry-led campaign by reissuing our open letter to Congress, urging them to reject any iterations of this bill.”

In its letter sent to Congress members on June 9, ButcherBox said, if passed, the bill “would eliminate virtually all state and local legislative powers to impose standards or conditions on the ‘pre-harvest’ production of agricultural products entering their own borders.”

ButcherBox noted that similar versions of the bill have been introduced on more than five occasions and have been met with an “uproar and strong opposition from a diverse set of more than 5,000+ groups, including American farmers, consumers and businesses.”

The letter was also supported by 19 other companies, including Perdue Foods, Coleman Natural Foods, Applegate, North Country Smokehouse, True Story Foods and Niman Ranch, among others.

Meanwhile, last week during the 2025 World Pork Expo, industry groups like the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) named a solution to Proposition 12 as one of the top priorities for its pork producers.

Joining NPPC officers in a policy update panel, Kylee Deniz, executive director of the Oklahoma Pork Council, shared that Oklahoma is currently the target of similar animal housing confinement laws to Prop 12 and Q3.

“We are preparing for — anticipating — a state question that would look something like Proposition 12 and really trying to get ahead of that at this time,” Deniz said.