Amid high egg prices and the spread of avian flu, Trump’s Agriculture Secretary is pushing an industry-friendly agenda to dismantle state-level animal welfare regulations designed to limit corporate eggflation and protect against livestock diseases.
In recent years, a handful of states have passed reforms that rein in industrial agricultural production by banning crates and cages for farm animals. Cage-free advocates have long argued the confined conditions of concentrated animal feeding operations are unhealthy for livestock and inadvertently incubate the spread of diseases such as avian flu.
These laws also level the playing field for independent smaller farms, enabling them to compete against the giant industrial producers in new markets for cage-free pork and poultry products.
Agribusiness has spent millions of dollars fighting these regulations. Now, with the help of the Trump administration, they’re working to eliminate the rules under the auspices of lowering egg prices for consumers.
