Triumph Foods and a group of Midwest pork producers are suing Massachusetts over its Question 3 law and others that set minimum housing requirements for livestock. The plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of the Q3 law and seeking immediate relief from the law before it takes effect on August 24. They also want enforcement stayed until the litigation is complete.
The law was approved by voters in 2016, and the plaintiffs say it creates challenges to interstate commerce and places burdensome costs on pork producers outside of Massachusetts.
The complaint comes months after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of California’s Prop 12 animal housing regulations.
While both California and Massachusetts laws impose housing standards for pork, producers argue Q3 goes further by not allowing the transshipment of whole pork throughout the state. That nuance in the Massachusetts law set off multiple lawsuits filed by restaurant, hospitality, and agriculture groups.
