The livelihoods of farmers would also be affected, she says. “The EATS Act could prohibit certain state and local regulations governing pests and diseases, removing critical tools that help protect farmers and their crops and livestock from the spread of invasive pests and disease,” McGill says. “The prohibition of these regulations by the EATS Act could jeopardize entire sectors of the agricultural economy and threaten the livelihoods of local producers. The EATS Act also would devalue significant infrastructure investments made by certain farmers in order to comply with state laws.”
The Cost of Compliance
Shawn Stevens, a food industry attorney with the Food Industry Counsel and a member of the Food Quality & Safety Editorial Advisory Board, says that certain states, such as California, have essentially come close to reaping havoc on the food industry on a national level by creating their own sets of rules that apply to various food commodities, and he believes this isn’t good for business or for the consumer. “If we harken back to Upton Sinclair, who wrote The Jungle in the early part of the last century, what he described was a mishmash of rules and regulations—and in some cases, no regulations—applicable to the slaughter and processing of beef,” Stevens says. “Because of this, every state was doing their own thing, and it made it difficult, if not impossible, to efficiently produce and sell food products throughout the U.S.”
In response, Congress passed the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) in 1906, which set a single set of standards applicable to slaughter and processing facilities throughout the country, for all meat and poultry. “The idea was to create a uniform set of standards so everyone was operating on the same level and the consumer knew what he or she was getting,” Stevens says. “It enhanced, improved, and supported interstate commerce.”
There’s also a clause in FMIA that prohibits states from creating any additional or different rules than those set forth in the act. “The EATS Act, in essence, is mirroring the preemption clause in FMIA, but extending that clause to agricultural products, through the raising of cattle or other animals intended for slaughter,” Stevens says. “I think it’s a great idea, and I don’t see why anyone would oppose this, unless you’re a senator from California. Therefore, this is as constitutional as you can get.”
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is one group that supports the EATS Act, citing concerns about the cost of compliance with certain state laws for some pork producers. The group also notes that U.S. pork producers are struggling economically. Since Proposition 12 requires capital investment that many producers will not have access to and that will lead to further consolidation between producers who have financial resources and those who don’t, fewer family farmers would continue to operate, says the organization.
Scott Hays, NPPC’s president and a pork producer from Missouri, says that a bipartisan, legislative solution to Prop 12 that ensures affordable, healthy pork products remain available to all Americans, including Californians, is fundamentally important for America’s pork producers. “Therefore, NPPC supports a legislative solution that helps us achieve that goal, which gets right at the fabric of our democracy—by not restricting trade between states,” Hays adds. “The implications are far reaching for agriculture and will stretch to other industries if a solution is not reached.”
Potential Impact on the Food Industry
McGill believes that if enacted, the legislation would cause significant disruption and uncertainty for producers and regulators in the food industry. “Many key terms are undefined in the legislation, leaving open the potential scope and effects that it might have,” she says. “State and local governments may stop enforcing a wide swath of their food and agriculture regulations rather than risk being sued under the expansive private right of action created in section 3 of the legislation. State and local governments also may be chilled from enacting new regulations related to food production to avoid costly litigation.”
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