The California Department of Agriculture and Food has begun to register food-distribution companies that can demonstrate that the meat they offer comes from animals and birds that comply with its new animal welfare standards, including a ban on sow gestation crates, laying-hen cages and veal crates.
It means that Canadian farmers wishing to access markets those distributers serve, including more than California, must also comply.
The California officials said they “will continue to focus on implementation of distributor registration requirements, accreditation of third party certifiers and outreach and technical assistance to businesses throughout the supply chain.”
The California Department of Agriculture and Food also said it “looks forward to engaging with industry representatives to further discuss what is needed to achieve a smooth transition to compliance.”
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled against meat packers who challenged the law.
It impacts far more than California because none of the large meat packers or egg-gradiong companies want to face the logistics and costs of segregating their products, some for California, others for the rest of the states.
