WE NEED YOUR HELP! 🐷

On Congress, carrot bacon, and the animal cruelty bill hiding in plain sight

The same week America collectively lost its mind over beagles in NIH labs (and rightfully so!) Congress passed something called the Save Our Bacon Act.

I am not joking. That is its actual name. 🤢 Let me explain what’s actually going on.

At Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary hanging with rescued pigs who will never have to face the cruelty of the factory farming industry again. They are the sweetest souls 🥺🐽

THE BILL

The Farm Bill just passed the House on April 30th. It squeaked through just 224-220 …. FOUR votes. Buried inside it is a provision called the Save Our Bacon Act, which sounds like a folksy, pro-farmer, pro-carnivore rallying cry and it is actually a federal power grab designed to dismantle decades of state-level animal welfare progress.

Here’s the specific cruelty it protects: gestation crates. These are metal cages so small that a pregnant pig cannot turn her body around. She stands… or tries to, for the duration of her pregnancy. Then she gives birth. Then it starts again. That is her entire life. It’s beyond horrifying.

In 2018, over ten million California voters passed Proposition 12, which banned the sale of pork, eggs, and veal (in other words pigs, chickens and baby cows) produced under those conditions. The Supreme Court upheld it in 2023. It has been the law here in California. It is a necessary step in the fight for animal welfare and an example to set for the rest of the US and the horrors that are the factory farming and big ag industry. And now Congress (at the request of a pork industry trade association) is trying to erase it.

As if that wasn’t enough, this provision would gut over 500 existing state animal welfare laws across the country and make it illegal for any state to set production standards for farmed animals that differ from another state’s. Which means the state with the least protections sets the floor for everyone. Apparently in America, the cruelest standard wins. Always. This is an absolute nightmare for animals, for our environment and is what I have spent the last 10 years fighting against.

WHO’S ACTUALLY BEHIND THIS

Here’s the part that should make your jaw drop.

The Save Our Bacon Act wasn’t written for American family farmers. It was written for the National Pork Producers Council which is a trade association dominated by two foreign-owned corporations that together control 40% of domestic pork production in the U.S. One of them is Smithfield Foods, which is owned by a Chinese company and already controls a quarter of American pig production.

Congress chose a Chinese factory farm conglomerate over ten million California voters and a Supreme Court ruling. Of course they did. Because in the US its profits over people.

ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE IN GENERAL

I want to be clear: I was devastated about the beagles and any animal for that matter used, bred and tortured in captivity for capitalism. In this case with these beagles it was thousands of dogs bred specifically to be used in experiments confined in cages, infected with bacteria, forced into septic shock. They were chosen because of their gentle, submissive nature. It was torture, and the public outrage is what is helping to end it. The fight isn’t over for this - it’s real and it matters just as much.

But here’s what I keep thinking about: pigs are just as sentient. They’re just as capable of suffering. They are just as intelligent and loving as dogs. The only difference is we’ve decided one of them is a pet and one of them is a product and that distinction is exactly what laws like Prop 12 were trying to complicate.

The beagles got a rescue and an international outcry. Pigs got a bill named after the food made from their bodies.

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WHERE IT STANDS

The House passed it and it now goes to the Senate. That is where this can still be stopped. Senators can demand the Save Our Bacon Act be stripped from the bill before it moves forward. They NEED to hear from us.

This is the script from 5 Calls, the easiest way to make your call count. You can find your senator’s number at 5calls.org or through the app:

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“Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP].

I’m calling to urge [SENATOR’S NAME] to oppose H.R. 7567, the Farm Bill, unless the Save Our Bacon Act is removed. This provision would nullify California’s voter-approved Proposition 12 and gut over 500 state animal welfare laws — all to benefit foreign-owned factory farm corporations. I’m asking [SENATOR’S NAME] to protect animal welfare and state sovereignty and strip this provision from the final bill.

Thank you for your time and consideration.”

If leaving a voicemail: leave your full street address so your call is tallied.

It takes three minutes. Senators track call volume. It matters.

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A VEGAN BACON RECIPE!

Of course I couldn’t leave you hanging without a great substitute for a BLT. Because we don’t need their bacon. We never did. 👏

This carrot bacon is smoky, chewy, slightly sweet, and the kind of thing that makes people genuinely confused about what they’re eating. I’ve been making it for years as meal prep for my sandwiches and it never gets old. Especially not on days when I need to channel my rage into something delicious. (and trust, regarding animals and women’s rights, there’s a lot of rage.)

The Goods:

• 3 large carrots, ribboned with a peeler

• 1 tbsp agave

• 2 tbsp coco aminos

• 2 tbsp liquid smoke

• 1 tbsp liquid aminos

• 1 tbsp olive oil

The Method:

Add everything except the olive oil to a bowl and let it marinate for 20 minutes. Heat a large cast iron, add the oil and then the carrot ribbons. Cook for 5-10 minutes while stirring or until you get crispy caramelized faux bacon. Enjoy as a bacon alternative on salads, sandwiches and pastas!

Make the carrot bacon! Make the call! Do both.

The animals don’t get a lobby. They get us!