The Trump administration is suing California, arguing that three Golden State laws are contributing to rising egg prices across the country “by imposing unnecessary red tape.”
“Through a combination of voter initiatives, legislative enactments, and regulations, California has effectively prevented farmers across the country from using a number of agricultural production methods which were in widespread use — and which helped keep eggs affordable,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit takes aim at three specific state laws – AB 1437, Proposition 2, and Proposition 12 – and argues that the federal government is responsible for regulating eggs under a 1970 federal law that established standards for both eggs and egg products.
California’s Proposition 2, a statewide ballot measure passed in 2008 that created welfare mandates for farm animals, and AB 1437, which regulates egg quality for human consumption, work in tandem to depress egg production, thereby driving up prices, the government argues.
Proposition 12, which was passed by voters in 2018 and set minimum space requirements for farm animals, was also targeted by the suit.
The complaint did not mention the outbreak of bird flu earlier this year that sent egg prices skyrocketing nationwide as millions of egg-laying hens were culled and the supply plunged.
Filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other state officials are named as defendants, along with the state of California.
The governor’s press office mocked the legal action in a post on social platform X Wednesday evening: “Trump’s back to his favorite hobby: blaming California for literally everything.”
“Next up: @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom caused the fall of Rome and sent the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs!” the post added.
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