The administration of US President Donald Trump has taken legal action against California concerning its regulations on eggs and chicken farms. The lawsuit claims that the state’s anti-animal cruelty laws have created “unnecessary red tape,” resulting in increased egg prices nationwide.
Filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, the lawsuit asserts that the federal Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970 supersedes state laws related to egg production.
This federal legislation empowers the US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to manage egg regulations for the sake of consumer health and safety, as well as mandates “national uniformity” in egg safety standards, according to the claims made by the Trump administration.
The California attorney general’s office has not yet provided a response to the request for comments.
While these state laws aim to combat animal cruelty and minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses, the federal government contends that only it has the authority to oversee egg safety regulations.
Eggs are displayed on a shelf at a Sprouts grocery store in San Rafael, California.
According to the lawsuit, while California has the authority to regulate chicken farms within its borders, it cannot impose additional requirements on eggs from other states that are offered for sale in California.
Previous challenges to California’s voter initiatives by farmers and other states have not been successful.
In 2014, six states—Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky, and Iowa—sued California regarding its egg regulations.
These states claimed that the federal law preempted California’s regulations but were unsuccessful in both a federal district court and the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 2023, the US Supreme Court upheld one of California’s voter initiatives, which had been contested in a lawsuit by pig farmers.
The pig farmers contended that California’s 2018 ballot measure, mandating minimum space requirements for pigs, cows, and chickens, impermissibly regulated out-of-state producers.
