The National Association of Egg Farmers sent an invitation on September 27th to the state poultry & egg associations listed below to join them in resisting the Humane Society of the United States in their second California ballot initiative effort by supporting Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s bill HR 2887 “No Regulation without Represenation”. Attached is the letter sent to the associations.

Alabama Poultry & Egg
Arkansas Poultry Federation
California Egg Farmers Association
California Poultry Federation
Connecticut Poultry Association
Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.
Florida Poultry Association
Georgia Poultry Federation
Illinois Poultry Industry Council
Indiana State Poultry Association
Iowa Poultry Association
Iowa Turkey Federation
Kansas Poultry Association
Kentucky Poultry Federation
Louisiana Egg Commission
Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, Inc.
Midwest Poultry Federation (Chicken and Egg Association of Minnesota)
Mississippi Poultry Association
Missouri Poultry Federation
Nebraska Poultry Industries
North Carolina Egg Association
North Carolina Poultry Federation, Inc.
Ohio Poultry Association
The Poultry Federation Oklahoma
Oregon (Pacific Northwest Poultry Council)
PennAg Industries Association Poultry Council
South Carolina Poultry Federation
Tennessee Egg and Poultry Association
Texas Poultry Federation
Virginia Egg Council
Virginia Poultry Federation
Wisconsin Poultry & Egg Industries Association

Letter sent:

We are reaching out to all state poultry & egg associations. Please help us in being proactive in stopping the Humane Society of the U.S.

We are writing you to urge support for Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s bill HR 2887 “No Regulation without Representation” in hopes of ending the efforts of the Humane Society of the U.S. in establishing production standards for eggs layers and gestation sows, and eventually for all of animal agriculture. (Bill copied below). HSUS has already stated publicly this legislation is their number one target to defeat in Congress. The National Association of Egg Farmers has come out in support of the bill as we have seen how one ballot initiative in California is not enough for the activists.

Recently I debated with Wayne Pacelle, President of HSUS, on California Public Radio. Here’s the audio tape showing our egg farmers are willing to fight this second ballot initiative in California.: https://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2017/09/01/58935/chicken-or-egg-what-does-it-mean-for-california-to/

But we need more than simply defense against the activists. We need to go on the offense and that is what Rep. Sensenbrenner’s bill will do. We urge you to contact your Representatives, especially those on the House Judiciary Committee, to get this bill through committee and on the Floor of the House of Representatives. After doing so, please let us know. Please help us do this for the sake of animal agriculture in the U.S.

Ken Klippen, President

H. R. 2887 To regulate certain State impositions on interstate commerce.
________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 12, 2017
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. CONAWAY, and Mr. TROTT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
________________________________________
A BILL
To regulate certain State impositions on interstate commerce.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) testified before the House Judiciary Committee July 25^th and included in his testimony data from NAEF on egg prices in California compared to the rest of the nation. The hearing was to consider HR 2887 entitled “No Regulation without Representation Act of 2017” H.R. 2887, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.).  It’s objective is to stop states from adopting laws and regulations that ban the sale of out-of-state products that don’t meet their state’s criteria for production practices.

When asked by the staff of Congressional offices during the Capitol Hill visits July 19-20 if NAEF would support this legislation, we said we would, as it would benefit the nation’s egg farmers.  The bill was designed to address the growing problem of states regulating beyond their borders.  This hearing was directed at California’s Prop 2 that regulates cage size for laying chickens and gestation stalls for sows as well as the recent ballet initiative that passed in Massachusetts.

https://judiciary.house.gov/hearing/no-regulation-without-representation-h-r-2887-growing-problem-states-regulating-beyond-borders/?utm_source=Daybreak&;utm_campaign=c34adcce6f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_07_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ac0d35ef7c-c34adcce6f-40888829

Twelve Reasons to Join National Association of Egg Farmers (NAEF)

1) The Right Ideology.  You join with other egg farmers in upholding an ideology that farmers know best how to raise chickens and produce a safe and wholesome egg without the interference of legislators who are responding to a social ideology. The NAEF members develop policy, not the animal rights groups.

2) Representation.  NAEF represents egg farmers from the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast producing nearly one-half billion dollars of eggs annually.  NAEF has successfully been represented before the U.S. Congress in preventing or supporting legislation for the benefit of the family farm.

2)  Market-Driven.  NAEF supports a market-driven system for producing eggs.  NAEF wants the consumer to be able to choose which eggs they want to purchase. 90% of all eggs purchased in the U.S. come from conventional caged systems providing safe, wholesome and affordable eggs.

3) Informed Decision-Making.  NAEF wants egg farmers to make informed decisions about animal husbandry and their production practices based on science.

4) Understanding How to Produce Eggs.  NAEF understands that well-cared-for-chickens produce the best eggs. There are advantages to all the various housing systems and there is no conclusive data indicating that one housing system is better than another.

5) Protecting Consumers Choice.  NAEF understands that eggs come from several different production systems, i.e., caged, cage-free, free-range, and organic and that forcing a one-size fits all approach toward egg production through legislation will deny consumers their freedom of choice.

6) Fighting for Rights.  NAEF resists legislation calling for new requirements on egg farmers that will force smaller, family farms out of business.  NAEF supports legislation that upholds the U.S. Constitution by regulating commerce as specified in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3.

7) Avoiding Mistakes.  NAEF reminds farmers that other countries that adopted similar legislative requirements on egg farmers experienced egg shortages resulting in egg imports from other countries along with significant increases in the cost of eggs to the consumers.

8) Staying Informed.  NAEF members and supporters receive a bimonthly newsletter with a Washington Update on issues and activities coupled with news stories concerning animal rights activists, environmentalists, food safety, GMOs, and crop reports.

9) Animal Welfare Production Systems.  NAEF members have available animal welfare production guidelines that uphold conventional production systems with more than 40 scientific references demonstrating a science-based system of production.

10)  Confidentiality.  NAEF members have signed confidentiality agreements for security reasons to protect their memberships from attacks from animal rights activists or other groups professing a different ideology for farming.

11) Property/Casualty Insurance.  NAEF members have access to a comparably-priced property and casualty insurance program through Cottinham & Butler Insurance brokers in Des Moines, IA).

12)  Growing Membership.  NAEF membership has grown nearly 50% just in the last year.  So what are you waiting for?  Join today because you know that 50 years of developing today’s production systems cannot be turned back to former times unless you let that happen.