Donald Trump wants to make chickens miserable again | Opinion
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Trump administration sues California over animal welfare law Proposition 12.
- Lawsuit claims egg prices rose from regulations, though experts cite avian flu.
- Supreme Court upheld states’ rights to enforce product standards within borders.
Talk about hen-pecking.
Donald Trump has taken his feud with California to a ridiculous new level by suing us for being too nice to chickens.
Apparently, his administration believes we coddle our egg-laying hens by allowing them to occasionally take a break from their duties — maybe stand up and spread their wings — rather than confining them in cages where they can barely budge.
It’s fine for Californians to set standards for our own chickens, but the lawsuit alleges that we cannot impose the same requirements on other states that want to sell eggs here. It demands that all states be allowed to sell eggs in California, as long as they comply with national standards for egg farms.
This may seem like some heartless campaign to make chickens miserable again, but the Trump administration claims it’s looking out for American consumers.
The lawsuit says California’s animal husbandry requirements have driven up the cost of eggs. That’s anathema for an administration that promised to bring down the cost living, but has done precious little to make that come true.
Quite the opposite. Trump’s tariffs are expected to raise prices on a host of items — cars, appliances, clothing and toys, to name a few. But as long as we can buy eggs for less than $5 a dozen, maybe we’ll be so busy making omelets that we won’t notice.
Except there’s a problem with that. Economists say it was bird flu — not California’s regulations — that was primarily responsible for the steep cost increases we saw several months ago.
Since then, there has been a drop in the number of avian flu cases, and egg prices have fallen along with them.
This lawsuit is nothing but posturing by an administration that couldn’t care less about American consumers — not to mention animal welfare. As much as Trump likes to discredit the “woke” Democratic leadership of California, a growing number of Americans — not just Californians — want farm animals to be treated humanely. California just helped lead the way on animal welfare.
In 2018, 63% of California voters approved Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, which set minimum space requirements for egg-laying hens, calves raised for veal and breeding pigs, and required that products sold in California meet those standards.
Voters weren’t hoodwinked by ‘activists’
Now the Trump administration appears to be alleging that voters were somehow hoodwinked into supporting the measure by “activists” primarily motivated by their “conception of what qualifies as ‘cruel’ animal housing, not by consumer purchasing decisions or scientifically based food safety or animal welfare standards.”
That’s hogwash, and it insults the intelligence of California voters.
What’s more, the U.S. Supreme Court already upheld Proposition 12 in a 2023 decision. It affirmed that states have the authority to regulate what can be sold within their borders.
The majority decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, even provided an example: If one state allows horse meat to be sold for human consumption, should that mean every state is required to do so?
Of course not.
Instead of filing this ridiculous, anti-chicken lawsuit, the Trump administration would be better off focusing on ways to actually support agriculture.
Start by allowing migrant farm workers to continue their important work without fear of being hauled off to Alligator Alcatraz.
Otherwise, $10 zucchinis may be coming soon to a grocery near you.
Stephanie Finucane is an opinion editor and writer for McClatchy and the San Luis Obispo Tribune
This story was originally published July 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Donald Trump wants to make chickens miserable again | Opinion."
