Tell Senators Ernst and Grassley - No EATS/Save Our Bacon Act Amendment in the Farm Bill!
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
The US Senate is expected to begin working on its version of the Farm Bill shortly. The US House version contains the EATS/Save Our Bacon (SOB) Act. So now it’s crucial to stop this dangerous bill in the US Senate.
The EATS/SOB Act, triggered by California Proposition 12, would remove a state’s right to enact agricultural laws that are more stringent than any other state’s laws.
Prop 12 was passed by 63% of California voters who don’t want to buy pork from animals raised in inhumane gestation crates. Nationally, 84% of Americans support more humane treatment of livestock.
The EATS/SOB Act would create a race to the bottom with the weakest laws in the nation becoming the national standard. An updated Harvard University report finds it would nullify about 600 state laws that currently protect farmers, food quality and safety, and consumers.
Senator John Boozeman, chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, indicated he won’t include the EATS/SOB language in his version of the Farm Bill.Â
But Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley intend to file an amendment during the committee’s markup of the bill to add it back in.
Senator Roger Marshall, a former cosponsor of the Senate SOB bill introduced by Senator Ernst, recently withdrew his support for the bill and asked for his name to be removed.
Send a message to Senators Ernst and Grassley telling them to follow in Senator Marshall's footsteps and withdraw their support for the EATS/SOB amendment now. Follow it up with a phone call at 202-224-3121 for even greater impact.
Let’s be clear, the EATS/SOB Act is mainly driven by Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, which controls 25% of the US pork market. The corporation wants to be as loosely regulated as possible.
In giving Smithfield a pass, the EATS/SOB Act would seriously threaten:
Independent and Prop 12 compliant hog farmers who now have access to California consumers. Mega corporations would quickly push them out of the market.
American family farmers who rely on critical laws that protect their herds against economically devastating infectious diseases.
Everyone who eats and cares about access to safe, high-quality foods and US food security.
Tell Senators Grassley and Ernst that you want them to join Senator Roger Marshall and withdraw their support for an EATS/SOB Act amendment. Tell them to put Iowa farmers and consumers, food safety, animal welfare, and US food security first, not Smithfield Foods and agribusiness interests. The EATS/SOB Act benefits no one but Big Ag.