By Faith Bautista
AS advocacy-oriented organizations of community, faith-based, and nonprofit leaders working collectively to empower underserved communities, the National Asian American Coalition and the National Diversity Coalition have been intensely focused on providing support to those in need during the pandemic. Hopeful that the worst is behind us, we are now looking to the future. Yet, alarmingly, another crisis is looming for California that has the potential to disproportionately harm Asian and Latino communities. It’s called Proposition 12.
Passed by voters in 2018 and set to go into effect in January 2022, Proposition 12 established new regulations on animal housing for pigs, calves and egg-laying hens. Part of the new law included a directive for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to issue guidelines – by Sept. 1, 2019 – on how our state and the national food supply chain would comply with Proposition 12. It’s now more than a year and a half later and we’re still waiting.
Now, we’re faced with a frightening scenario: Come January 2022, most of the nation’s pork supply (bacon, ham and pork chops) will be illegal for sale in the Golden State, resulting in potential pork shortages and skyrocketing price increases. While concerning for all communities, this scenario is even more threatening for Latino and Asian grocers, restaurants and families – communities that rely on pork as a main staple for a variety of meals.
Click here to read the article in Asian Journal.
