Hinson says she will ‘stand with Iowa agriculture’ and fight against California pork rule

MARSHALLTOWN – Iowa pork producers, at a Friday news conference supporting U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, emphasized the need for federal legislation that will stop individual states from dictating the growing conditions of agricultural products. 

Hinson, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, previously introduced the “Save Our Bacon Act” in an effort to stop state-specific laws like California’s Proposition 12. That law stipulates certain proteins sold in the state must comply with California animal confinement regulations, even if the animals were raised in Iowa or any other state. 

Hinson alleged her Democratic opponent, Josh Turek, supports the California law and is, therefore, against Iowa farmers. 

“Anyone who supports a mandate like Prop 12 isn’t someone who can genuinely represent the people of Iowa, especially not our farmers and our producers and Iowa agriculture,” Hinson said. “… You either stand with the radical vegan activists who don’t know the first thing about farming, or you’re like me: You stand with Iowa agriculture.” 

While Turek has been opposed to the Save Our Bacon Act, the state senator has said he does not support Proposition 12. 

“Ashley Hinson has repeatedly betrayed rural Iowa and voted to hurt farmers by supporting chaotic tariffs and a Middle East war that is driving up the cost of diesel and fertilizer,” a spokesperson from Turek’s campaign said in a statement. “To make matters worse, she forced her unpopular, pro-China ‘Save Our Bacon Act’ into the Farm Bill, jeopardizing passage of the Farm Bill that Iowans desperately need.”

The spokesperson said Turek plans to focus on farm issues like nationwide, year-round E15; right to repair farm machinery; monopolization of the farm markets and to pass a Farm Bill, if he is elected to fill U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat. 

Proponents of the Save Our Bacon Act, which is similar to an earlier bill known as the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression, or EATS act, say it protects interstate commerce from a “patchwork” of differing state regulations. 

But some analysts and opponents of the bill say it would negate a number of state laws, beyond the scope of livestock production and meat sales. 

The California state referendum went into effect in 2024 and pork producers alleged Friday the law has caused the price of bacon and other pork products to skyrocket in the west-cost state.

According to the National Pork Producers Council, covered pork products are 20% more expensive in California after the start of the law. 

In addition to raising prices for consumers, pork producers argue that Prop 12 compliance hurts family farmers who have to update their sow enclosures at an average cost, according to the National Pork Producers Council, of $3,400-$4,000 per sow. 

Defenders of Proposition 12 say pork producers don’t have to sell their products in California if they don’t want to have compliant operations.

Rob Brenneman, the National Pork Producers Council president and a pork producer from Washington County, said the added cost of Proposition 12 compliance will affect the future generations of Iowa pork producers. 

“We talk about second, third, fourth, and fifth and sixth generations – this will have an impact because livestock and pig production is a big part of our industry, of our state, especially here in Iowa,” Brenneman said Friday.

Tom Mead and his family hosted the event on their century farm west of Marshalltown. Mead said he recently welcomed a granddaughter into the world who will represent the sixth generation on his family’s farm. 

“We’re proud to be raising the next generation with the same values and appreciation for agriculture and the livestock industry that have sustained our family for many years,” Mead said. 

Pork producers at the event said animal welfare standards should be set by “science and experience.” Blake Edler, a Marshall County producer, said Prop 12 is an animal welfare issue with “a lot of misinformation in regards to animal behavior.” 

“A Prop 12 environment causes an increase in lameness, injury, health problems,” Elder said. “… As a farmer, I deeply care about animal welfare, and I don’t want to see my animals suffer.” 

The California law stipulates pork sold in the state must come from operations where sows had at least 24 square feet of space – enough to turn around freely – in either individual or group housing systems.  

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians urged Congress to pass legislation that would stop laws like California’s, arguing that “no single husbandry style is applicable in all situations.” 

Language from Hinson’s Save Our Bacon Act was included in the 2026 House-passed Farm Bill, but was not included in the Senate’s recently released Farm Bill draft. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, was an original sponsor of the Senate version of the Save Our Bacon Act, along with Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, but Marshall withdrew his support of the bill in June. 

An ad campaign from the American Meat Producers Association calls the Save Our Bacon Act a “scam” and a “giveaway” to Chinese corporations. The association says it works to promote “responsible production, protect fair and open meat markets, and keep family farms thriving.”

Hinson said her bill would protect small family farms that cannot absorb the costs of converting their operations to be Proposition 12 compliant.

“One of the most insulting parts of the campaign, in my mind, is the suggestion that our farmers only care about the bottom line, that they don’t care about the welfare of the animals that they are raising,” Hinson said. “As you’ve heard from these folks today, nothing could be further from the truth. The folks standing behind me know better than anyone that animal health and well-being is their top priority because that is their bottom line.”