Reposted from: https://www.alternet.org/gop-small-business/
October 26, 2026
Warning: This is a sob story that might bring you to tears. Or make you upchuck in disgust.
It’s about hogs — both the four-legged species and the more piggish, two-legged breed of agribusiness executives. The latter have long profited from cruel abuse of millions of hogs caged in their monopolistic system and now the agbiz giants have launched a lobbying campaign called SOB — “Save Our Bacon.” It’s not a plea to save the abused animals, but to save the abusers’ profits!
It turns out that most consumers don’t like animal abuse, so states are passing laws to prevent such corporate practices. This has led to a vibrant new market for humanely raised pork, already gaining more than a fourth of national pork sales.
“Ouch,” squealed the factory farm giants, feeling the pinch of real competition. Rather than clean up their methods, though, the monopolists have raced to Washington, demanding that Congress “save their bacon” by artificially and autocratically rigging the market. Their Save Our Bacon act would usurp states’ rights to set their own standards for animal welfare.
This is not an “academic free market issue.” In recent state ballot initiatives, voters have overwhelmingly endorsed ethical standards for animal agriculture. Moreover, responsible family-farm producers have quickly responded to this growing new market, upgrading their facilities to meet the new state standards of humane production.
Yet, rather than embracing this success for animals, farmers and consumers — here come tiny cliques of corporate profiteers like the National Pork Producers Council. They’re wielding their Big Money lobbying muscle, trying to overrule the public interest … and the political will of America’s majority.
Jim Hightower