California to have ‘very active black market for pork’

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.”