Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-468_5if6.pdf
Page Number: 53.0

Cite as:  598 U. S. ____ (2023) 

3 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part 
Opinion of KAVANAUGH, J. 

today is a $20 billion-plus industry that generates hundreds 
of  thousands  of  American  jobs  and  serves  millions  of 
American  consumers.  Importantly  for  this  case,  the  vast
majority  of  pig  farms  are  located  in  States  other  than 
California—such as Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and 
North Carolina.  And the vast majority of pork is likewise 
produced in States other than California.  

In  2018,  California  voters  nonetheless  passed  a  ballot 
initiative,  Proposition  12,  that  not  only  regulates  pig
farming and pork production in California, but also in effect 
regulates pig farming and pork production throughout the 
United  States.  Under  Proposition  12,  all  pork  sold  to 
consumers in California must be derived from pigs raised 
in  compliance  with  California’s  strict  standards  for  pig 
farming, including California’s minimum square footage of
space  required  for  housing  individual  pigs.  By  its  terms,
Proposition  12  applies  to  pigs  raised  and  pork  produced 
outside California. 

California’s  requirements  for  pig  farms  and  pork
production  depart  significantly  from  common  agricultural
practices  that  are  lawful  in  major  pig-farming  and  pork-
producing  States  such  as  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Illinois, 
Indiana, and North Carolina.  See Brief for Indiana et al. as 
Amici Curiae 24–32.  Moreover, according to various amici, 
some  of  the  scientific  literature  suggests  that  California’s
requirements could worsen animal health and welfare.  See, 
e.g., Brief for American Association of Swine Veterinarians 
as  Amicus  Curiae  4–19;  Brief  for  State  Pork  Producers 
Association  of  Iowa  et al.  as  Amici  Curiae  25–34. 
Regardless of whether the amici are correct on that point,
it  is  evident  that  absent  California’s  Proposition  12,
relatively few pig farmers and pork producers in the United 
States  would  follow  the  practices  that  California  now 
demands.  Yet  American  pig  farmers  and  pork  producers 
have little choice but to comply with California’s regulatory
It  would  be  prohibitively  expensive  and 
dictates.