In National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, pork producers are suing, saying that it is too expensive to comply with the standards set by California's Proposition 12, a measure that attempts to increase the living conditions for farm raised animals such as chickens and pigs. Most pork raised on pig farms in other states are confined to metal gestation crates where they are unable to turn around for their entire lives. Because most pork consumed in California is produced outside of California, the measure in effect forces out of state pork producers to comply to California's standards. Pork producers claim that the Constitution does not empower California to effectively set regulatory standards for all other states. 

First, we speak with Kathy Hessler, Assistant Dean for Animal Legal Education at George Washington University Law School, about National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, and its possible implications. Then we speak with Tyler Doggett, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Vermont, about how we should think about the living conditions of the pigs we kill for food.