The Farm Bill is moving to the U.S. Senate after recently passing in the House of Representatives. Many of our supporters contacted their Representatives and made their voices heard. Unfortunately, the version of the bill passed by the House includes the “Save Our Bacon” (SOB) Act, which would override hundreds of state-level animal protection laws.
Minnesota is now the most important state in this fight because our Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She will play a leadership role in drafting the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill. Minnesota Senator Tina Smith is also on the committee and will make important contributions to the bill’s final shape. Thanks to Senator Klobuchar and Smith, the Senate’s draft Farm Bill will not include the SOB Act—but we need to keep our voices heard to make sure it’s not added later on.
It’s more important than ever to speak up and make sure the Farm Bill doesn’t contain any version of the “Save Our Bacon” Act. The good news is that it’s super easy to make a difference. We’ll show you how.
What Is the Farm Bill?
The Farm Bill is a huge omnibus bill with a comprehensive scope that passes through Congress roughly every five years. The bill is a package deal that covers all sorts of issues like farm subsidies, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), crop insurance, rural development, and more. The House version of this year’s Farm Bill also contains provisions that could change protections for farmed animals across the country, including in Minnesota. If enacted, it would have serious consequences for animals, people, and communities.
Why Minnesota’s Voice Is So Important
Minnesota has already made meaningful progress for animals this year. Advocates in our community have advanced protections for dogs and cats from puppy mills, and Hennepin County continues work on its plant-based-by-default policy for county events.
But at the federal level, those kinds of hard-won protections are under threat.
Both of Minnesota’s Senators serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is writing its version of the Farm Bill, and Senator Klobuchar is the committee’s ranking member.
That gives Minnesota a powerful role in stopping this dangerous provision before it moves forward. It also means that we need to focus our messaging on local control, public health, and Minnesota’s economy.
What Is the Save Our Bacon Act?
On April 30, the U.S. House passed a Farm Bill that includes the so-called “Save Our Bacon” Act (SOB)—a provision designed to wipe out hundreds of state and local laws regulating the sale of animal products within states’ own borders. Because the Farm Bill is considered must-pass legislation, pork industry lobbyists were able to sneak this provision in despite broad bipartisan opposition.
What’s at Stake for Animals
For decades, animal advocates have exposed the routine cruelty of extreme confinement in industrial farming. In the pork industry, pregnant pigs are often kept in gestation crates so small they cannot even turn around for months at a time.
When the public learned about these practices, voters took action. Across the country, Americans from across the political spectrum supported measures to prohibit extreme confinement. In 2018, California voters passed Proposition 12, which set stronger standards for the sale of animal products from animals raised in intensive confinement.
Proposition 12 is now widely seen as one of the strongest farm animal protection laws in the world, and it has already helped spare millions of animals from the worst confinement systems.
What the “Save Our Bacon” Act Would Do
The pork industry has spent years trying to overturn laws like Proposition 12. They filed repeated lawsuits and lost, all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023.
Now, unable to win in court, the industry is trying a different route: asking Congress to take away states’ authority to regulate products sold within their own borders.
That’s what the “Save Our Bacon” Act would do. On its own, this proposal would face intense opposition from animal protection advocates, small farmers, higher-welfare producers, food safety and public health advocates, local governments, and supporters of states’ rights across the political spectrum. So instead, industry lobbyists buried it in the Farm Bill and blocked efforts to remove it.
If Congress passes this language, it could wipe out hundreds of laws that protect animals, consumers, and public health.
How You Can Make a Difference
While all of this sounds scary, there is still hope. When all of us make our voices heard, we can create change.
The most important thing you can do for animals right now is call and email your U.S. Senators and let them know you support their efforts to keep the “Save Our Bacon” Act out of the Farm Bill.
Call Your MN Senators
Calling your Senators is easier than you think! When you call, you’ll likely either talk with a staffer or be prompted to leave a message. Calls from constituents are logged, and Senators listen to what their constituents want. Phone calls are an easy way to make your voice heard. Call these numbers to get in touch with our MN Senators’ offices:
- Senator Amy Klobuchar: 202-224-3244
- Senator Tina Smith: 202-224-5641
Email Your MN Senators
Maybe making calls isn’t your style. Or maybe you’ve already tried calling and the voicemail box is full. Sending an email is the next best thing. Share your opinions in writing and send them off to these links:
What to Say When You Call or Email
Contacting your Senators can be intimidating—but it doesn’t have to be! Of course, you can personalize your message to fit your own personality and what you’d like to say. To make it even easier, you can also use our sample script below. Customize it to your liking, or just copy and paste—what could be easier than that!
Hi, my name is [NAME], and I’m a constituent from [CITY/ZIP].
I’m calling to thank Senator [NAME] for opposing the Save Our Bacon Act in the Farm Bill, and ask her to oppose the language in markup, on the floor, and in conference. This provision would override hundreds of state and local laws—including multiple Minnesota laws requiring veterinary inspections of farm animals for disease prevention.
Minnesota’s legislators should have the right to set standards that protect our health, support our economy, and reflect our values. Congress should not strip our state, or any state, of that authority.
[for Klobuchar only] As someone running to be the next Governor of Minnesota, it’s critical that you protect Minnesota’s ability to make its own laws and protect the health of all Minnesotans.
Please keep working to keep the Save Our Bacon Act out of the Farm Bill and oppose any Farm Bill that includes this language. Thank you.
More Ways You Can Help
If you’ve already called or emailed, thank you for making your voice heard! You can also contact your Senators more than once on any issue you care about. Call or email again. And again. Fill those Senators’ inboxes to let them know that Minnesotans care about this Bill. Every email or call is another voice for animals and our community.
Here are more ways to be involved:
- Are you part of a faith community? Ask your faith leader or community to sign on to this letter.
- Are you a family farmer or connected to someone who is? Contact us
- Are you a public health expert or connected to one? Contact us
Together, we are making life better for farmed animals. Stay tuned for more action alerts and join us at an event soon. Our community is strong and we are so grateful for all the ways you show up!
