The thing that bothers me in this debate is that folks are talking past each other. Whether the gestational crate ban was good or bad is irrelevant relative to what else is on the line. What matters here is that it will ban states from being able to regulate farm animal welfare in any meaningful way. When hog and broiler production is concentrated in 2-5 states, unilateral within-state production bans will be futile more often than not and the states with the most to lose will be the last on board. To make matters worse, animal welfare is a classic public good. Most of what people value is not connected to their own personal consumption—it’s the other billions of animals they can never help with their personal consumption habits (see my job-market paper: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ofUv_tkrT69FBzHPcD39YbsvNDFK4Xl7). So, regulation is required to bypass free riding and help consumers actually achieve their own preferences. The consumer becomes powerless. That is what is at stake here.
The thing that bothers me in this debate is that folks are talking past each other. Whether the gestational crate ban was good or bad is irrelevant relative to what else is on the line. What matters here is that it will ban states from being able to regulate farm animal welfare in any meaningful way. When hog and broiler production is concentrated in 2-5 states, unilateral within-state production bans will be futile more often than not and the states with the most to lose will be the last on board. To make matters worse, animal welfare is a classic public good. Most of what people value is not connected to their own personal consumption—it’s the other billions of animals they can never help with their personal consumption habits (see my job-market paper: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ofUv_tkrT69FBzHPcD39YbsvNDFK4Xl7). So, regulation is required to bypass free riding and help consumers actually achieve their own preferences. The consumer becomes powerless. That is what is at stake here.