ND joins legal fight against California, Massachusetts egg, meat laws

The lawsuit, filed by Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, alleges that the California law violates the U.S. Constitution's interstate commerce clause and is pre-empted by federal law. Other states joining in the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

Eggs are often shipped to California from the upper Midwest from farms where the hens are kept in small cages. Some producers have already been switching to larger cages where chickens can move more freely. Some others are even going as far as to have cage-free chickens.

North Dakota has also joined another suit filed in the U.S. Supreme Court against Massachusetts, which passed a ballot measure banning the sale of pork, veal and eggs produced under confinement. That suit, filed by Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, is also based on the U.S. Constitution's interstate commerce clause. Other states joining that suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The laws would force producers across the country to comply or completely forego any sales in California or Massachusetts, or sales to national distributors that may resell products in those two states.

"California and Massachusetts are trying to regulate outside of their borders by imposing their standards on agricultural production in other states," Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. "If laws like this are enforced, it will drive up costs for producers and increase food costs for consumers."

The Humane Society of the United States was a major backer of both ballot initiatives, spending more than $4 million in California and more than $2 million in Massachusetts.

"Animal activist groups like HSUS are turning to the ballot to get laws passed in line with their ideology," Goehring said.

The Massachusetts law is scheduled to go into effect in 2022, while the California law has been in effect since 2015.