Pork as a Constitutional Issue: The Dormant Commerce Clause and Animal Protection 

On October 11, 2022, the Supreme Court began to hear the case of National Pork Producers Council v. Ross. The issue of this case stems from Proposition 12, a 2018 ballot revision to existing California law that banned the sale of “whole pork meat from animals confined in a manner inconsistent with California standards.” The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation (both referred to as “the Council”) argue that Proposition 12 violates the Dormant Commerce Clause and has reached the Supreme Court on this issue.