Letters to the Editor: Trump administration is cherry-picking science in cage-free-egg lawsuit

Los Angeles Times

18-07-2025

To the editor: As an animal welfare advocate, it is difficult for me to keep a level head while writing this letter. My instinct is to make an emotional plea for the continued welfare of the now relatively free-roaming chickens in this state to continue, but that won't help ('Trump administration sues California over cage-free egg and animal welfare law,' July 10). Instead, let me point out that, according to this article, even President Trump appointee Justice Neil M. Gorsuch voted to uphold our 2018 California state law in 2023. His rationale? The Supreme Court could not find this law to have been in violation of the Constitution because the intent was not to interfere with interstate commerce. Has anything changed in the Constitution since then?
But now, suddenly, Department of Justice lawyers have decided to pull science out of their hats, claiming that there is no evidence, according to 'peer-reviewed published scientific literature,' that cage-free eggs are safer than those laid in cages. Isn't it interesting that this entity, which is run by Trump apologist and ally Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, can cite science as a defense now while overlooking the anti-science actions of the president? Look no further than the assault on our universities and the loss of funding for scientific research.
Even if Proposition 12 was approved by voters in 2018 out of sheer concern for animals' welfare, Humane Society International has cited at least 15 scientific studies that demonstrate the superior safety of cage-free eggs. The DOJ shouldn't be allowed to cherry-pick information that favors the views of a man who seems to hate science.
Anneke Mendiola, Santa Ana