Americans: call your senators today to stop the Save Our Bacon Act
The Farm Bill currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate includes the Save Our Bacon Act.
Right now, many states regulate animal welfare for all animal products sold in the state, regardless of where they’re produced. The Save Our Bacon Act would make this illegal—states would still be allowed to regulate farms in their own state, but wouldn’t be allowed to make selling low-welfare meat and dairy illegal.1 Right now, it’s illegal to sell certain low-welfare animal products in California, which means that farmers around the country are incentivized not to use veal crates or pig gestation crates. Passing state-level laws that ban low-welfare animal products is one of the most effective strategies for improving animal welfare—people are much more likely to vote for high welfare standards than to choose to buy high-welfare animal products, and it’s much easier to convince Californians of the importance of animal welfare than the entire country.
From the Effective Altruism Forum post on the topic:
The highest priority state is Arkansas. Second is Minnesota. After that are Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Utah, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Missouri. However, all 50 states are still influential.
Here is a call script, but the people who answer the phones just write down “support” or “oppose”—all you have to do is say that you’re opposed to the Save Our Bacon Act.
Please call your senators today or tomorrow. If you have friends or loved ones in Arkansas or Minnesota, please nag them to call their senators.
Thank you!
Weirdly, Save Our Bacon doesn’t apply to eggs.
Just called my Pennsylvania senator, thanks!
As a DC resident I have no senator to call. Reader, if you have a senator who represents you and you are on the fence about reaching out to them, think of your fellow citizens who have no such option! May it inspire you to make your voice heard and to cherish the opportunity to do so.