Bill requiring sale of conventional eggs gets final Iowa Senate OK amid complaints it's anti-free market

The Iowa Senate gave final passage Monday to a controversial bill requiring Iowa grocers in a supplemental food program to offer conventional eggs if they sell eggs from chickens housed in a cage-free, free-range or enriched colony cage environment.

House File 2408 was approved 32-17, sending it to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds for her consideration. It was approved in the House last week on an 81-17 vote.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, opposed the bill, complaining that it's clearly contrary to free enterprise, anti-regulation policies espoused by Republicans. "This is really direct interference in the marketplace," he said.

But Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, who farms in northeast Iowa, lauded the legislation for assuring that a low-cost choice for protein is available when many low-income Iowans head to the grocery store. Free-range or cage-free eggs are typically more expensive than conventional eggs from large farming operations.

"This bill is a home-run, game-winning bill," Zumbach remarked.

The legislation would apply to grocers participating as a vendors in the special supplemental food program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with state officials, and the bill would allow state officials to seek a federal waiver if necessary.

Supporters of the bill have pointed out that Iowa is the nation's leading egg producer, noting the egg industry provides thousands of jobs and consumes millions of bushels of Iowa corn and soybeans. But critics have charged the legislation is evidence that large-scale, corporate-style agriculture is dictating policy decisions at the Iowa Capitol.

Sen. Robert Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said he didn't favor the bill, but he pointed out that it has been narrowly written. The bill doesn't apply to the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and it would have no impact on direct farmer-to-consumer sales.

In addition, the bill’s provisions do not require a grocery store to stock eggs if it does not stock specialty eggs for sale. A grocer would also not need to stock conventionally produced eggs if it had not stocked such eggs for sale prior to Jan. 1, 2018.