Missouri Rules

States Rights for me but not for thee:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's attorney general has asked a federal court to strike down a California law regulating the living conditions of chickens, setting up a cross-country battle that pits new animal protections against the economic interests of Midwestern farmers.

The lawsuit by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster takes aim at a California law set to take effect in 2015 that prohibits eggs from being sold there if they come from hens raised in cages that don't comply with California's new size and space requirements.

Koster said Tuesday that the California law infringes on the interstate commerce protections of the U.S. Constitution by effectively imposing new requirements on out-of-state farmers.

"If California legislators are permitted to mandate the size of chicken coops on Missouri farms, they may just as easily demand that Missouri soybeans be harvested by hand or that Missouri corn be transported by solar-powered trucks," Koster said.

...California voters approved a ballot initiative in 2008 that required egg-laying hens, pigs and calves to be raised with enough space to allow the animals to lie down, stand up, turn around and fully extend their limbs. The measure gave farmers until 2015 to comply with the provisions.

...Missouri farmers produce about 1.7 billion eggs annually and sell about one-third of those — about 540 million eggs — in California, according to Koster's lawsuit. He said that makes Missouri the second-largest egg exporter to California, behind only Iowa.

Many of Missouri's hens are raised in tight cages that won't meet California's new standards. Koster said Missouri farmers would have to spend about $120 million to remodel their cages or forgo sales to one of their most important markets, which could force some Missouri egg producers out of business.