LOS ANGELES - (May 11, 2023) - In a historic day for animals and California voters, the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld Proposition 12. The law, enacted in 2018 by voter initiative with nearly two-thirds support, protects pregnant mother pigs from extreme confinement. It also bans the use of veal crates (for calves), battery cages (for egg-laying hens), and prohibits the sale of products from such inhumane systems in the state of California.

Throughout March and April 2023, Farm Sanctuary co-hosted Shift the Farm Bill satellite parties at 10 universities nationwide. From Portland, Oregon, to St. Petersburg, Florida, students across the country connected with fellow advocates, lobbied for transformative state and federal food policy bills, and enjoyed some delicious, local, plant-based food.

This morning, we hosted a kickoff event on Capitol Hill, celebrating Representative Earl Blumenauer’s (OR-03) introduction of the Food and Farm Act of 2023. Joined by animal, health, justice, farmer, and environmental advocates, we shared how today’s Farm Bill fails nearly all of us – while advancing a transformational vision for United States food systems.

The distribution of land ownership creates one of the most powerful barriers to food system justice and sustainability. Land consolidation, like corporate consolidation, makes factory farming possible. But who owns land, and how much, isn’t an accident. It’s the result of historical, legal, social, and economic structures that reflect and perpetuate structural inequalities, particularly systemic racism. As we seek to make food systems work for animals, people, and the planet, we must, in Representative Alma Adams’ (NC) words, provide the pathways to “create a new generation of Black farmers.”

Building on outreach to more than 2,000 organizations over 20 months, the D.C. Roundtable will lead to a series of roadmaps to help transition us away from the status quo — one that misuses resources and hurts nearly all of us — to one that is more just, compassionate, and sustainable for people, animals, and our shared environment.

Farm Sanctuary hosted a “Roundtable Review of U.S. Food Systems” on Capitol Hill, sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), with additional in-person remarks from Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and advocates from key national and community-based organizations, including Farm Action, The Center for Biological Diversity, The Eva Clayton Rural Food Institute, and Corbin Hill Food Project.

Every February, we think fondly of our groundhog friends still hibernating underground. And there's no need to rouse “Punxsutawney Phil” to check his shadow—groundhogs reemerge on their own. At Sanctuary, we do our best to live in harmony with wildlife—after all, this land is their land, too. Check here for cute photos of some of the friends who also call Farm Sanctuary home!