'Make chickens miserable again': Trump's California feud taken to 'ridiculous new level'

Charlotte Observer columnist Stephanie Finucane is slamming the Trump administration over a “ridiculous, anti-chicken lawsuit” forcing Californians to buy produce from states that raise chickens, pigs and other food animals in tiny, constrictive cages.

“Donald Trump has taken his feud with California to a ridiculous new level by suing us for being too nice to chickens,” Finucane writes. “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.”

In 2018, 63 percent of California voters approved Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, which set minimum space requirements for egg-laying hens, veal calves and breeding pigs. The Trump administration’s problem with it is that the new law also requires products sold in California from other states to meet those standards.

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“This may seem like some heartless campaign to make chickens miserable again, but the Trump administration claims it’s looking out for American consumers,” said Finucane, who quoted the lawsuit as claiming California’s animal kindness is driving up the cost of eggs, as opposed to bird flu, which was the real source of recent egg inflation, according to economists.

Meanwhile, Finucane says Trump’s tariffs are expected to genuinely raise prices on a host of consumer items, including cars, appliances, clothing and toys.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already trounced Trump’s legal argument before, having upheld Proposition 12 in a 2023 decision. It affirmed 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,” writes Finucane.

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Instead of filing silly lawsuits, Finucane advised the administration to actually lower food prices 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,” she writes.

Read the full Charlotte Observer report at this link.