American Solidarity Party Denounces Farm Bill Livestock Provision as “Anti-Federalist, Inhumane”

The American Solidarity Party denounced language included in a Farm Bill approved this month by the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, arguing that a provision governing interstate livestock sales would undermine state authority and weaken animal-welfare protections.

In recent remarks on social media, the party drew attention to a provision that it said reflects concessions to large agricultural interests and could make it harder for states to enforce regulations related to how farm animals are raised.

The language in question mirrors the earlier proposed Save Our Bacon Act, introduced in 2025 by Republican Ashley Hinson of Iowa. That proposal sought to limit the ability of individual states to restrict the sale of agricultural products based on the methods used to raise livestock in other states, a change the bill states would help protect interstate commerce and maintain a consistent national market for agricultural goods. It was later referred to the Agriculture Committee following its introduction.

The American Solidarity Party quoted Lewis Bollard of Coefficient Giving, who said that the earlier language had been “buried” in the bipartisan committee-approved Farm Bill. Bollard pointed specifically to language beginning on page 744 of the text, arguing that the provision could “condemn millions of pigs to a lifetime in gestation crates” by limiting the ability of states to regulate confinement practices for livestock raised elsewhere in the country.

“This is anti-federalist, inhumane, and a sop for special interests,” the party said in response. “Animals are not people. But they are living things, not inanimate cogs, and reasonable protections for animal welfare make our food system better.”

The party blamed consolidation within the agricultural industry for how the issue came to pass, calling it a “key part” of the problem. It also criticized the federal government for promoting what it characterized as a longstanding “go big or go home” approach to agriculture. “A healthier food system will have more small farms,” the party added.

As the American Solidarity Party draws on traditions associated with Christian democracy and the Catholic social principle of Solidarity, it also advocates stronger animal-welfare protections and policies supporting smaller agricultural producers. In its platform, the party specifically calls for strengthening legal protections against animal abuse and neglect, stricter regulation of factory farms and stockyards, tighter oversight of animal research, and the repeal of “ag-gag” laws that restrict reporting on conditions within animal agriculture facilities.