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A28 u.s. news
Dialuna 2 augustus 2021

Bacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect

to see how the pork indus- of the state proposition. animals?” Balk asked. “It says
try can adequately supply something about the pork
California, which consumes At one typical hog farm industry when it seems its
roughly 15% of all pork pro- in Iowa, sows are kept in business operandi is to lose
duced in the country. open-air crates measuring at the ballot when they try to
14-square-feet when they defend the practices and then
California’s restaurants and join a herd and then for a when animal cruelty laws
groceries use about 255 mil- week as part of the insemina- are passed, to try to overturn
lion pounds of pork a month, tion process before moving them.”
but its farms produce only 45 to larger, roughly 20-square
million pounds, according to foot group pens with other In Iowa, which raises about
Rabobank, a global food and hogs. Both are less than the one-third of the nation’s
agriculture financial services 24 square feet required by the hogs, farmer Dwight Mogler
company. California law to give breed- estimates the changes would
(AP) — Thanks to a re- that requires more space for ing pigs enough room to turn cost him $3 million and allow
worked menu and long breeding pigs, egg-laying The National Pork Producers around and to extend their room for 250 pigs in a space
hours, Jeannie Kim man- chickens and veal calves. Na- Council has asked the U.S. limbs. Other operations keep that now holds 300.
aged to keep her San Fran- tional veal and egg producers Department of Agriculture sows in the crates nearly all of
cisco restaurant alive dur- are optimistic they can meet for federal aid to help pay the time so also wouldn’t be To afford the expense, Mo-
ing the coronavirus pan- the new standards, but only for retrofitting hog facilities in compliance. gler said, he’d need to earn
demic. 4% of hog operations now around the nation to fill the an extra $20 per pig and so
comply with the new rules. gap. Hog farmers said they “It is important to note far, processors are offering far
That makes it all the more Unless the courts intervene haven’t complied because of that the law itself cannot be less.
frustrating that she fears or the state temporarily al- the cost and because Califor- changed by regulations and
her breakfast-focused din- lows non-compliant meat to nia hasn’t yet issued formal the law has been in place “The question to us is, if we
er could be ruined within be sold in the state, Califor- regulations on how the new since the Farm Animal Con- do these changes, what is
months by new rules that nia will lose almost all of its standards will be adminis- finement Proposition (Prop the next change going to be
could make one of her top pork supply, much of which tered and enforced. 12) passed by a wide margin in the rules two years, three
menu items — bacon — hard comes from Iowa, and pork in 2018,” the agency said in years, five years ahead?” Mo-
to get in California. producers will face higher Barry Goodwin, an econo- response to questions from gler asked.
costs to regain a key market. mist at North Carolina State the AP.
“Our number one seller is ba- Animal welfare organizations University, estimated the The California rules also cre-
con, eggs and hash browns,” for years have been pushing extra costs at 15% more per Josh Balk, who leads farm ate a challenge for slaughter-
said Kim, who for 15 years for more humane treatment animal for a farm with 1,000 animal protection efforts at houses, which now may send
has run SAMS American Eat- of farm animals but the Cali- breeding pigs. the Humane Society of the different cuts of a single hog
ery on the city’s busy Market fornia rules could be a rare United States, said the pork to locations around the na-
Street. “It could be devastat- case of consumers clearly If half the pork supply was industry should accept the tion and to other countries.
ing for us.” paying a price for their be- suddenly lost in California, overwhelming view of Cali- Processors will need to de-
liefs. bacon prices would jump fornians who want animals sign new systems to track
At the beginning of next 60%, meaning a $6 package treated more humanely. California-compliant hogs
year, California will begin With little time left to build would rise to about $9.60, and separate those premi-
enforcing an animal welfare new facilities, inseminate according to a study by the “Why are pork producers um cuts from standard pork
proposition approved over- sows and process the off- Hatamiya Group, a consult- constantly trying to overturn that can serve the rest of the
whelmingly by voters in 2018 spring by January, it’s hard ing firm hired by opponents laws relating to cruelty to country.

Mudslides force more than 100 to spend night on highway

(AP) — More than 100 people 65 and 70 people remained strand- Transportation officials say the sec-
had to spend the night on a high- ed at a rest stop Friday afternoon as On Thursday, the canyon had tem- tion of interstate is expected to be
way, including nearly 30 who crews worked to punch a safe passage porarily closed earlier in the day as closed at least through the weekend
took refuge in a tunnel, after rain through the debris. one storm cell approached but had because of the significant cleanup un-
over an area burned by a wildfire reopened by the time a second storm derway and because of heavy rain in
once again triggered mudslides Mike Goolsby, a regional director cell moved in, which led to the ve- the forecast. The National Weather
in western Colorado, authorities for the transportation department, hicles and their passengers getting Service has issued a flash flood watch
said Friday. said the area was affected by about 10 trapped. for the area.
slides, some 12 feet (4 meters) deep
The people were caught with their and up to 150 feet (46 meters) wide.
vehicles on Interstate 70 in Glenwood
Canyon on Thursday night. Those in “I’m very grateful that no one was
the tunnel were stuck for about nine hurt. ... We’ve tried our hardest not
hours until crews could carve out a to have people in the canyon when
path through the mud to reach them these flash flood warnings hit, but it
at about 6:30 a.m. Friday, Garfield was the best case scenario for all of us
County Sheriff’s Office spokesman based on the outcome this morning,”
Walt Stowe said. he said.

The tunnel serves as a 24-hour op- Glenwood Canyon has cliffs towering
erations center for the Colorado De- up to 2,000 feet (610 meters) above
partment of Transportation, so it is the Colorado River, making it prone
relatively well-lit and has telephones, to rockslides and mudslides. In recent
Stowe said. No injuries were report- weeks, rain over the area burned by
ed. a wildfire last summer has triggered
frequent slides, resulting in closures
The transportation department has of I-70, Colorado’s main east-west
accounted for 108 people, includ- highway. Those closures have mostly
ing 29 in the tunnel, who were stuck occurred before the storm moves in,
on the highway overnight. Between to prevent people from being trapped.