"The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday preserved a California law banning the sale of pork in America's most-populous state from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, rejecting an industry challenge claiming that the voter-backed animal welfare measure impermissibly regulates out-of-state farmers.
The justices voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation seeking to invalidate the law, but they were divided in their reasons for doing so.
The industry had argued that the measure violated a U.S. Constitution provision called the Commerce Clause that courts have interpreted as empowering the federal government - not states - to regulate interstate commerce.
"While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California merchants may sell is not on that list," wrote conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the court's main opinion."
Nate Raymond and Andrew Chung report for Reuters May 11, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"Supreme Court Upholds California Law on Humane Treatment of Pigs" (New York Times)
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