The Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act would prohibits state and local governments from imposing conditions on the preharvest raising of animals in another state.
Following the Supreme Court upholding California’s Proposition 12, which sought to limit how livestock intended for food to be sold in California could be raised, Congress introduced new legislation to limit the ability of states to regulate food products nationwide.
California’s Proposition 12, along with other state initiatives, set minimum requirements for the raising of animals used for meat sold in California, regardless of the state in which the animal was raised. The constitutionality of Proposition 12 was challenged on the basis that California should not be allowed to govern conduct occurring in other states and, after review, the Supreme Court upheld the Proposition 12 as constitutional. The Supreme Court stated, in the decision, that “Companies that choose to sell products in various states must normally comply with the laws of those various states.”