Analyst warns GOP farm bill could accidentally legalize horse meat
A shopper walks past shelves displaying Easter eggs and chocolates inside a Tesco supermarket in Manchester, Britain on Feb. 5, 2026 REUTERS/Phil Noble
May 04, 2026
The House-passed farm bill includes the controversial "Save Our Bacon Act," designed to override state bans on pork from pigs raised in gestation crates, which animal welfare advocates consider abusive.
Critics argue the bill's broad language may have unintended consequences.
Coefficient Giving managing director, Lewis Bollard, argued on X that the provision bars states from regulating meat sales based on production methods for "covered livestock," a category that inadvertently includes horses. This could force states like Texas, which has banned horse slaughter since 1949, to allow horse meat sales, according to the Animal Welfare Institute.
Bollard expressed doubt that representatives voting for the bill understood this consequence, stating they "didn't care enough to ask what else would go with them."
The Senate is expected to debate and revise the farm bill later this month, providing an opportunity to clarify or amend the problematic language.
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