Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is leading 21 states in challenging Massachusetts’ controversial restrictions on pork sales within the state. The law prevents the sale and transport of pork in Massachusetts unless producers comply with strict hog-housing regulations. Bird argues that the law threatens Iowa’s pork industry, the nation’s largest, and could force family farmers to face additional costs or be excluded from the Massachusetts market. Bird says, “The Massachusetts pork ban is absolute hogwash. Iowa is the leading pork-producing state in the nation and is home to countless farms that Iowans have passed down through families for generations. With this ban, Iowa farmers are left with two drastic options: pay the extreme costs to comply with red tape that could drive them out of business or be banned from selling their pork. Either option is a loss for Iowa’s hardworking family farmers and pork producers, but I won’t let that happen. Massachusetts does not get to tell Iowans how to raise their pork.” Bird, alongside 21 other state attorneys general, argues the ban violates the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Dormant Commerce Clause, Import-Export Clause, and Full Faith and Credit Clause. The coalition asserts that regulating interstate commerce is the federal government’s responsibility, not states’. A similar bill out of California, Proposition 12, was upheld in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case has been appealed to the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals. The full brief is included below.
