In 2018, Californians drew a line: breeding pigs raised for pork sold in California must, at a bare minimum, have enough space to turn around before they’re killed. These animals still wouldn't roam freely or be spared suffering, but at least they'd have enough space to turn their bodies. Now, the Save Our Bacon Act threatens to undermine that decision.

Proposition 12 required breeding pigs to have at least 24 square feet of usable space each. This includes pigs across the country: If their pork is sold in California, California's standards still apply.

This isn't the industry's first attempt to get rid of California's standards. In 2023, the pork industry tried to overturn Proposition 12 in court, but failed in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross. When that failed, supporters turned to the House of Representatives to pursue legislation instead.

The House included the Save Our Bacon Act in its Farm Bill, but the Senate Agriculture Committee left it out of its version amid concerns about securing enough votes to pass the legislation. If passed, the Act could weaken California's animal welfare laws, allowing pork from pigs raised in conditions California voters already rejected.

Across much of the country, millions of female pigs are treated as breeding machines. They are repeatedly impregnated, have their piglets taken away to be raised for slaughter, and spend their pregnancies confined to gestation crates. These metal cages are barely larger than their bodies, leaving the pigs unable to turn around, walk, or interact with each other. They stand, lie down, and endure until their bodies can no longer reproduce. Then they too are sent to slaughter.

Pigs are naturally social and curious animals. They explore their surroundings, interact with one another, and build relationships. In these crates, they lose nearly every natural behavior. Their entire existence is reduced to producing the next generation of pigs.

Proposition 12 doesn't end any of this. It doesn't stop pigs from being slaughtered, eliminate factory farming, or give these animals anything resembling a decent life. It simply requires enough space to move around.

More than 7.5 million Californians voted for Proposition 12, with nearly 63% of voters approving the measure. This wasn't some radical demand imposed by politicians. It was a decision made by the very individuals purchasing these products. Now, the pork industry wants to get around it.

Supporters of the Save Our Bacon Act argue that different state requirements make farming more expensive and complicated. According to the Iowa Farm Bureau, producers may have to change their facilities or farming practices depending on where they sell their products. Changing facilities may be expensive, but the alternative is continuing to confine animals in conditions California voters have already rejected. At what point does cutting costs stop being a reasonable excuse?

Besides, more than 1,300  suppliers and distributors have already complied with Proposition 12. They spent the money and made the changes. Weakening these standards now wouldn't undo those expenses. Instead, businesses that already invested in compliance could be forced to compete with those that avoided the same costs. It would send the message that following animal welfare laws is optional, as long as enough pressure is put on lawmakers.

Californians already voted. Now Congress is considering whether that decision should matter at all. Contact your representatives and make it clear that these protections are worth defending. We have the intelligence to recognize suffering and the power to prevent it, and with that comes the responsibility to act.

If we can't show compassion to those who are completely at our mercy, what does that say about us?