Mainstream reporting of a new animal welfare law in California has added to a right-wing media narrative fearmongering about liberals threatening meat supplies. And rather than providing nuance about how this regulation may impact market prices, these reports are enabling some right-wing figures to claim that bacon may not be available in California next year. 

California’s Proposition 12 banned the sale of veal, pork, and eggs from farms that keep livestock penned in less than a specific number of square feet, in an attempt to create a more humane treatment of farm animals. The initiative passed in 2018 with 63% of California voters in favor of the law and will be enforced at the beginning of next year. 

Currently only 4% of pig farms meet the new requirements. However, veal and egg producers have largely been able to comply.

The Associated Press first reported the story on July 31 with its article titled “Bacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect.” Other mainstream news sources also published reporting on the measure, with most carrying the AP's framing.

• NPR wrote: “California's New Animal Welfare Law Could Mean The End Of Bacon.”
• NBC News tweeted a link to its repost of the AP story, writing, “Unless the courts intervene or the state temporarily allows non-compliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose almost all of its pork supply next year.”
• Bloomberg’s story used the AP headline “Bacon May Disappear in California as Pig Rules Take Effect.” 
• New York magazine published “Coming Soon: The Great California Bacon Crisis.”
• USA Today’s headline read: “Could you live without bacon? Bacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect.”
• Business Insider wrote: “California restaurant owners fear bacon may become scarce — or even disappear — as new animal-welfare rules take affect, reports say.”

While a notable story, the framing of the reports is problematic. Californians consume 15% of the pork market and 12 other states have passed similar laws. Although prices will likely rise somewhat in California, the accumulation of these regulations means hog farmers will have to change their practices to stay competitive. But the dramatized headlines that talk about bacon disappearing in the state could help spread misinformation, as a significant amount of people retweeting articles on Twitter don’t really read beyond headlines.  

This nuance was not conveyed as the story moved from the mainstream to right-wing blogs and news. Through dramatized reporting and headlines, the mainstream media fed into right-wing culture war narratives that liberals were cracking down on meat consumption. 

• Breitbart reposted the AP article with the same headline and tweeted: “Say so long to pork, California.”
• Fox News host Pete Hegseth framed the rule as the “latest left-wing push” that could “push … bacon off the menu” and also urged his viewers to “save the bacon.”
• National Review podcast host Jeff Blehar made fun of the law in a tweet and wrote, “96% of all pork products are about to become unavailable in the state. You get what you deserve.”
• Newsmax’s John Cardillo tweeted, “CA is now just an experiment in how to get people to hate politicians more than they ever thought possible.” The initiative was passed by the voters. 
• Fox News anchor Sandra Smith started the segment on the story by saying, “It may never be the same in California, as it may be difficult to buy bacon in grocery stores and restaurants because of the state's new animal welfare law.”