A group of law professors have written to the House and Senate blasting a controversial amendment to the farm bill currently undergoing negotiations.
Originally published in a study, the letter penned by 14 law professors was obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle and not released publicly. In it, they reportedly criticize the Protect Interstate Commerce Act introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an amendment that seeks to limit states’ power to supervise their own farming standards. If passed, the amendment would ban states from requiring agricultural and livestock conditions that are stricter than those in other states, so long as the products are intended for out-of-state sale.
The experts allege that the amendment is a food safety risk, writing that there is “a significant likelihood that many state agricultural laws across the country will be nullified, that public health and safety will be threatened, and that the amendment could ultimately be deemed unconstitutional.”
A major target of the amendment is California’s Proposition 2, a 2008 law that enforced higher standards for farm animals’ living quarters. The law later expanded to require all eggs sold in California be produced under Prop 2’s standards. The statute was put into effect to keep out-of-state egg producers from taking advantage of Californians’ high standards and outpricing in-state farmers. ..Continued.. by Lydia O'Connor
No comments:
Post a Comment
We use the Disqus Commenting system, please wait for it to load. Also, comments are moderated, please stick to the issue of the post, as we are trying to have an intelligent, relevant discussion which develops the post. Comments deviating from topic of post will not be posted. Thanks