National Pork Producers Council

The National Pork Producers Council is a trade association representing U.S. pork producers and other industry stakeholders. It conducts public policy outreach on behalf of its affiliated state associations from its headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa.

The NPPC's supports the industry's standard practice of housing pregnant pigs in gestation crates, which has been criticized by The Humane Society and other animal welfare groups.^[2]

History[]

The National Pork Producers Council was formed in 1954 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.^[3] In 1970, it established itself as a 501(c)(5), a trade association which is allowed to lobby, unlike the previous designation of charitable organization.^[1] On January 1, 1986, it became the national-level recipient of pork checkoff funds.^[3]

Political involvement[]

According to NPPC's website, its mission is to "fight for legislation and regulations, develop revenue and market opportunities and protect the livelihoods of America’s more than 60,000 pork producers. Public policy priority issues include those relating to animal health and food safety, environment and energy, and international trade."^{[4][full citation needed]} It conducts public policy outreach on behalf of its 42 affiliated state associations.^{[citation needed]}

Beyond legislation and regulation, NPPC is involved in the political process through a political action committee, PorkPAC. The PAC seeks to educate the public and support candidates at the state and federal levels who support the industry.^[4]

Organization[]

NPPC is governed by Board of Directors, composed of 15 members, and pork producer delegates from the organizations' state associations. Recommendations for new policies and for changes to existing policies are considered annually, in March, at the National Pork Industry Forum.^{[citation needed]}

NPPC also creates ad hoc task forces to study or provide guidance on industry issues. NPPC receives advice and works closely with the meat packing industry and animal health and feed companies, as well as the National Pork Board. Together, NPPC and NPB have formed joint task forces on certain issues.^[4]

Ethical principles[]

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The pig farmers represented by NPPC adhere to a set of We Care^[5] ethical principles and guidelines maintained by the National Pork Board We Care initiative.. These ethical principles include:

• Produce safe food
• Promote and protect animal well-being
• Ensure practices to ensure public health
• Safeguard natural resources in all our practices
• Provide a work environment that is safe and consistent with our other ethical principles
• Contribute to a better quality of life in our communities

Criticism[]

The NPPC supports a variety of housing systems, including gestation crates and open pen housing, each of which has advantages and disadvantages concerning animal welfare, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.^[6]

The Humane Society and other animal welfare groups have criticized NPPC's support for allowing hog farmers the right to determine the type of housing that's best for their sows.^[2]

The NPPC was responsible for the EPA’s rollback on disclosing information on factory farms. In 1999 and 2000, the EPA collected data about water and air quality, and other environmental risks surrounding pig farms. The NPPC sued the EPA to keep information about factory hog farms unavailable from FOIA requests and won.

References[]