Should families living in Utah or Kentucky be footing the bill for foolish policy decisions made in California? Unfortunately, that is a reality facing Americans across the country who are paying higher prices for a pack of bacon or a dozen eggs at the grocery store thanks to an obscure California law. Congress should kick this California food tax to the curb.
At issue is California’s Proposition 12, which mandates a one-size-fits-all standard for farmers who raise pigs or egg-laying hens. Under the law, only eggs and pork that are produced under a “Whole Foods”-style system can be sold in Golden State supermarkets. That also means consumers are paying expensive “Whole Foods”-level prices.
California is free to experiment with policies that exacerbate the affordability crisis in San Francisco and Los Angeles — a job at which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is extremely proficient. The problematic part of Proposition 12 is that it applies to farmers in any state who sell food in California.
ROLLINS SAYS 80% OF US FARMERS WILL BE UNAFFECTED BY RISE IN FERTILIZER PRICES
For farmers across the country who value staying in business, simply ignoring the state is not possible. Californians account for a big chunk of the consumer market — and therefore eat a lot of pork and eggs. So, they’re having to spend millions to become “California-compliant” — and these costs are passed on to consumers everywhere.
Allowing California to impose costs on businesses and consumers across the country is dangerous and undemocratic as residents in other states never had a vote in California. Could California also demand that Midwest farms unionize or pay a $17 minimum wage?
While farmers in other states are being held at gunpoint by California, consumers are stuck with supermarket sticker shock and demanding change. New state-based polling reveals that residents from Arizona to Florida and Louisiana to Maine are fed-up with California’s food tax. Majorities say they are concerned about food prices and want Congress to rein in the West Coast overreach that is partly to blame.
The version of the Farm Bill passed by the House Agriculture Committee in March serves up a fix to this rotten situation. It includes a provision called the Save Our Bacon Act, which would limit California’s food tax to its borders. Seven Democratic committee members joined their Republican colleagues to approve the package. This bipartisanship even extends to bitter rivals in former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.
THIS EASTER, PRAISE JESUS AND THANK A FARMER
The Biden administration previously expressed concern about Proposition 12, noting how it has “thrown a giant wrench into the workings of the interstate market in pork.” Meanwhile, the current inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has endorsed nullifying the California overreach, saying, “I will use all authority under the Constitution and U.S. law to stop efforts by California – or other states – that hurt American farmers in other states.”
Congress has a lot on its plate, but promptly cracking California’s overreach on egg and pork prices via a bipartisan Farm Bill should be high on the priority list. Americans living outside of the Golden State should not be saddled with a food tax they — or their elected representatives — had no role in supporting.
Will Coggin is the research director at the Center for the Environment and Welfare.