news

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) introduced H.R. 8994, the Pigs and Public Health Act of 2024 (PPHA). This piece of legislation would require a joint report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that tracks pathogens associated with nonambulatory, or “downed,” pigs. The bill aims to establish better, species-specific standards for pigs on-farm, during transport, and at slaughter, with the goal of reducing the number of downed pigs – swine that cannot stand or walk unassisted – and attempting to ensure they never enter the food supply.

“For years congress has failed to support regulations in the U.S. pork industry that ensure safe working conditions and humane treatment for farmed animals," said Congresswoman Escobar. "The risk that downed pigs pose to public health continues to be a problem which is why PPHA is an imperative step in the right direction. The factory farming model as it stands today increases the likelihood of infectious diseases in humans from animal origins.”

“Big agribusinesses that value fast profit over the safety of its workers and consumer transparency are standing in the way of stopping this threat to public health. We have implemented similar protections in the cattle industry, it’s now time that we take action in the pork industry. PPHA will improve standards, accountability mechanisms, transparency, and information collection.”

“Big Meat profits by neglecting pigs at every stage of factory farming and has no financial incentive to treat animals better,” said Frances Chrzan, senior federal policy manager of Mercy For Animals, U.S. “The USDA has given the industry license to exploit animals in such horrendous ways — to the point of immobility — by allowing the slaughter of sick or injured pigs and the sale of their flesh to unknowing consumers. Mercy For Animals applauds Representative Escobar for championing the Pigs and Public Health Act to protect pigs and humans alike. Prohibiting the slaughter of downed pigs would not only reduce their needless suffering but force the hand of Big Meat to improve their animal welfare standards and prevent pigs from becoming downed in the first place.”

“Plant employees and food safety inspectors work side by side to ensure American families have access to safe pork products,” said Paula Schelling Soldner, chair of AFGE’s National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals. “It is critical to the safety of our food supply that workers be able to report safety abuses without the fear of retaliation. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) calls on Congress to pass this important bill to protect American consumers.”

The Congresswoman has a long record of supporting preventative messages that protect workers, consumers, and farmed animals of the U.S. pork industry. In a bipartisan statement released in December 2023 the Congresswoman stressed this to Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, and Under Secretary for Food Safety, José Emilio Esteban. 

The Pigs and Public Health Act of 2024 is co-sponsored by Congressman Earl Blumenauer, (OR-03), Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and Congressman Tony Cárdenas, (CA-29), endorsed by over 30 organizations including Mercy for Animals, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, and Animal Welfare Institute, and full text can be found here.