California to have ‘very active black market for pork’

May 29, 2023

At the beginning of July, all pork products sold in California must meet Prop 12 requirements, unless efforts to delay—which are already happening—are successful. If unsuccessful, Steve Meyer, lead economist at Partners for Production Agriculture, told Global Hog Industry Virtual Conference (GHIVC) attendees that two channels of pork into the state will likely emerge: one that is compliant, and one that is not.

“It all depends on how effective they are at enforcing the law,” he said. “There’s going to be a very active black market in California for pork. It’s got a big border, and you can probably get it into small retailers.”

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.