Save Our Bacon Act would override California state animal welfare law for meat processing
A 2017 survey found 21% of Americans would eat bacon every day for the rest of their lives.
What the bill does
The Save Our Bacon Act is a Republican bill to effectively nullify animal welfare laws for animals like pigs raised for meat, focusing on one particular state law in California.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA2) introduced a House version in July 2025.
Context
In 2018, California voters approved an animal welfare measure for animals raised for meat. For example, pigs now had to have enough space to turn around in their cages; they couldn’t be staged parallel, side to side to side to side.
Known as Proposition 12, voters approved the measure by 63% to 37%.
Over the years, Republicans have tried to nullify this measure in at least three ways.
First, they went to the Supreme Court.
However, the Court upheld California’s law by 5 to 4 in the decision National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, ruling that states could establish such animal welfare standards within their own borders.
The decision didn’t break down neatly along ideological lines. Among the court’s conservatives, Barrett + Gorsuch + Thomas voted for it, while Alito + Kavanaugh + Roberts voted against. Among the court’s liberals, Kagan + Sotomayor voted for it, while Jackson voted against.
Next, Republicans tried using the White House.
In July 2025, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit against California over Proposition 12. However, in March 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Mark C. Scarsi dismissed the case, ruling that the federal government lacked standing to sue as it “is not the target of [California’s] challenged government action.”
(Interesting side note: Trump actually nominated Judge Scarsi, back in 2020.)
What supporters say
The bill’s supporters argue that California’s state law has become a de facto national law, since California is the most populous state, and that they’re too expensive for small farms.
“California’s Proposition 12… [poses] a major threat to family farms and food security — both in Iowa and across the country,” Rep. Hinson said in a press release. The bill “reaffirms livestock producers’ right to sell their products across state lines, without interference from arbitrary mandates. This legislation will stop out-of-touch activists — who don’t know the first thing about farming — from dictating how Iowa farmers do their job. There will be no bacon ban on my watch.”
(To be clear, no state actually banned bacon.)
What opponents say
Opponents counter that the bill interferes with state autonomy, and that California’s law is actually not expensive or raising prices.
“This is not a case of California and other states imposing their standards on out-of-state producers,” 180+ House Democrats wrote in a letter to House Agriculture Committee leadership, “as producers in any state can choose not to supply another state’s consumers or to segregate animals for different markets.”
“Additionally, a recent empirical study by three USDA-affiliated economists found no evidence that Proposition 12 impacted pork products outside of California,” the House Democrats continued. “Using Circana retail scanner data, the study examined early price impacts on covered pork products in both California and the broader U.S. market, concluding there were none.”
What happens next
The bill has attracted 25 cosponsors, all Republicans. And yes, one of them is the aptly-named Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE2).
As a standalone measure, it’s been referred to the House Agriculture Committee, but perhaps it could be added to Congress’s annual larger farm bill. On April 30, the House passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 with the Save Our Bacon Act included as Section 12006.
The House approved the larger bill by 224 to 200. Republicans voted almost entirely in favor, by 209 to 3; the three Republican opponents were Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA1), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY2), and Harriet Hageman (R-WY0). Democrats largely opposed it, by 14 to 197.