New farm bill would condemn pigs to a lifetime in gestation crates

bilsbie 192 points 185 comments March 09, 2026
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Discussion Highlights (15 comments)

hansbo

Gestation crates are up there among the most immoral things created by man.

bayarearefugee

Humanity is almost definitely going to wipe itself out in the not too distant future through an avoidable (if not for the selfish greed of many of us) climate change resource war Great Filter event. This used to really bother me, but lately I'm thinking it is probably for the best.

nekusar

Farming practices are already absolutely terrible. And for reasons of arbitrary weight increase, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ractopamine is used in the USA. Doesnt degrade when cooked, so humans also get fat from it amongst other bad side effects. Banned in most countries, but not the USA. This is also why pork export is banned in most countries. I know 1 person who is "allergic to pork". But European pork is fine. Even Canadian pork is fine. But what's different with US pork? Ractopamine. To me, this is yet another reason why capitalism initially was great at making an economy, but profit-seeking behavior gets legally and ethically worse and one trades ethics for money.

Havoc

The sooner we get to true lab grown meat the better Meat is nice but would be better if we can skip the whole suffering thing

aquir

Anyone who's ever looked after and cared for pigs knows that this is very-very cruel. I would do the same with those humans(?) who wants this. Greed over everything. Disgusting

SunshineTheCat

Does anyone else ever find it odd that in posts like this the person posts a sad picture of a pig instead of a screenshot of the page of the bill they're talking about? I think "a provision that would condemn millions of pigs to a lifetime in gestation crates" is in fact horrific, however, outrage is the currency on places like X. Posting a page number sounds specific, but then why not post the page (or quote it)? Particularly in any even remotely political environment where the default is "vote for (or oppose) this bill or you want [insert cute animal, baby, person, minority group] to die." Just a tiny bit of source referencing could go a long way to help people better understand what you want them to support (or oppose).

megabless123

https://xcancel.com/Lewis_Bollard/status/2030985704902099335...

criddell

Here's a link to the bill if you are interested in who sponsored and cosponsored it. It's a total of 24 people, so it had a fair bit of support. If you live in the district of one of these people you might consider contacting them to let them know your opinion. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4673...

butILoveLife

I find it odd we need legislation to prevent this. There are not enough consumers to care? Or maybe with legislation we get better outcomes due to scaling effects? If we are willing to use legislation, could we tax such gestation crates, and use that tax revenue to breed unconscious pigs? Or find a way to disable consciousness in their brain? Or fund lab meat? I'm sure small labs are doing this, but if we are at the point of legislation, I imagine there is enough willpower to solve this problem rather than bandaids.

ryandrake

If the billionaires in power thought that they could grow their wealth 1% more by forcing the rest of us humans into gestation crates, they would do it in a heartbeat.

hermannj314

Pigs outnumber the humans 7-to-1 in Iowa, but they don't vote so here we are. As an Iowan, it is obligatory to show love for Herbert Hoover and our pig population when called upon.

metalman

crates are wastefull , gestation tubes, amputate there irrelevant legs, and keep them in nice cozy tubes.

gowld

Ashley Hinson, sponsor of Save Our Bacon Act, endorses bombing people thought to be dangerous. Pig-torturers are dangerous. https://www.kcrg.com/2026/03/06/rep-hinson-speaks-iran-confl...

aristofun

I can understand and respect no meat people’s position (vegans etc), because it is consistent. Even if I disagree generally. But how can I comprehend people who eat meat and okay with killing animals, but get outraged by so and so practices of growing them? Isn’t it a textbook definition of inconsistency and hypocrisy?

wktmeow

Stop eating them if you give a shit then

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