EATS Act Push Back

President and CEO at Competitive Markets Action and Secretary for the Organization for Competitive Markets, Marty Irby commented on the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression or EATS Act by saying that although it is aimed at California's Proposition 12, the bill's language goes far and above that ballot measure and reaches into dairy, egg, beef, poultry, and other agricultural production sectors, essentially nullifying state laws that are important to producers.

“It's a preemption issue. So there would still be an opportunity for some state laws to have an impact. But the federal law would take precedent over the state law. And that's where the Nullification comes into play. So if you're a producer in Iowa, and this is what they're actually trying to do with the legislation, and you're required to sell a certain type of product in California, this would nullify the law that maintain those certain standards. In this instance, it's about the confinement of breeding sales in gestation crates during the period of time before they actually have their production.”

There is discussion of the EATS Act becoming a part of the 2023 Farm Bill. Therefore 30 senators have announced their opposition to the legislation becoming a part of the Farm Bill, and that follows 172 members of the US House of Representatives who have also come out in opposition to the legislation.