Missouri Atty. Gen. Chris Koster filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fresno on Monday, challenging a California law that requires the living conditions of egg-laying hens to include enough room for the animals to spread their wings.
The law affects the 540 million eggs Missouri sells in the Golden State each year. Missouri must abide by the agricultural production restrictions outlined in the law, which Koster argues violates the interstate-commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.
"At stake is whether elected officials in one state may regulate the practices of another state's citizens who cannot vote them out of office," Koster said in a release. "If California legislators are permitted to mandate the size of chicken coops on Missouri farms, they may just as easily demand that Missouri soybeans be harvested by hand or that Missouri corn be transported by solar-powered trucks."
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