In 2018, Californians made their voices loud and clear—animals raised for food deserve basic dignity. With 63% of voters in favor, Proposition 12 was passed to ensure that mother pigs, egg-laying hens, and veal calves have enough room to stand up, turn around, and extend their limbs. It was a landmark moment for animal welfare.

Now, powerful factory farming interests are trying to erase that progress. Congress is considering bills like the Food Security and Farm Protection Act and the Save Our Bacon Act, designed to gut Proposition 12 and override state-level protections. If these bills pass, not only will they nullify California’s voter-approved standards—they’ll also strip every state of its right to protect animals and public health through local laws.

Let’s be clear: these bills are not about food security. They’re about shielding the worst offenders in industrial agriculture from accountability. Their sponsors claim to represent farmers, but many family farmers support higher welfare standards and have already made the transition to more humane systems. These bills only benefit the largest pork producers—the ones keeping animals in cages too small to turn around, while polluting our land and water, and devastating rural communities.

Even the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Proposition 12. But now, Big Pork is running to Congress for a legislative bailout they couldn’t win in court. That’s not democracy—it’s special interest lobbying at its worst.

We, the undersigned, call on Congress to reject the Food Security and Farm Protection Act and the Save Our Bacon Act. These laws are a direct attack on voters’ rights, on farmers who have chosen the humane path, and on animals who deserve at least the freedom to move.

This is about more than just California. Fifteen states have already passed animal welfare laws. The public is not going back to cages and crates—and neither should our lawmakers.

Stand with voters. Stand with family farmers. Stand with animals.
Save Proposition 12. Stop Big Pork’s power grab.