The U.S. House of Representatives is debating and voting on a huge legislative package, the Farm Bill, that could decide the basic quality of life for millions of pigs and other animals, and set dangerous limits on what state laws can do for animal welfare.

The absurdly named Save Our Bacon Act that’s part of this Farm Bill would override state laws that protect farm animals from extreme confinement (not ban bacon)—laws that voters, legislators and supportive farmers and producers have already put in place.

There’s still time for you to urge your representative to protect state animal protection laws.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan amendment was filed that would have struck Save Our Bacon from the Farm Bill. But given House Agriculture Chairman GT Thompson's continued flogging for Big Pork, it was blocked from advancing for a vote before the full House of Representatives. This was a naked power grab by the backward-facing segment of the pork industry to shut out the more than 200 members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, who firmly oppose the Save Our Bacon Act and did their best to stop Thompson’s power play.

Remember: More than 7.5 million Californians voted for Proposition 12 nearly a decade ago; the Supreme Court upheld Proposition 12 in 2023; and the market has already moved away from the extreme confinement of farm animals.

In past Farm Bill deliberations, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle opposed attempts to override state animal protection and public health laws.

Protect Prop 12 >>

Across the U.S., 15 states from Arizona to Ohio to Florida have enacted laws to limit the cruel confinement of farm animals. These measures reflect what most people believe:

• Animals should be able to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably.
• States have the right to set health, safety and animal welfare standards for products sold within their borders.
• A few Big Pork producers and their trade associations should not be able to rewrite the rules when voters rejected their practices.

The SOB Act would undermine the growing consensus that animals raised for food are deserving of our compassion and humane consideration. At its core, this push to destroy humane legislation isn’t about helping farmers or feeding families. It’s about protecting industrial-scale pork producers that rely on intensive confinement systems most Americans oppose.

The future of animal welfare in the U.S. shouldn’t be decided by a handful of powerful industry lobbyists behind closed doors. It should reflect our shared values of compassion, fairness and accountability. This is a critical moment in the history of farm animal protection. And it’s one where individual voices really can make a difference.

Tell your representative to oppose the Farm Bill that undermines state animal protection laws.