Grant Krueger, owner of the Union Restaurant, has sued the Arizona Department of Agriculture responsible for regulations that will ultimately mandate production and sale of cage-free eggs in the state.  Krueger maintains that higher priced cage-free eggs will cost his restaurant up to $100,000 annually.  The Arizona Department of Agriculture based their regulation on “science-based evidence that ensuring eggs produced and sold in Arizona come from cage-free facilities minimizes food safety risks”.  This is, at best, a speculative proposition.

The regulations issued by the Department of Agriculture were not subject to the legislative process and were issued without public comment.

The two major producers in Arizona have, in large measure, converted to cage-free production mainly to satisfy California Proposition #12 requirements.  Production capacity in Arizona exceeds state demand.

Courts will have to decide whether procedures followed by the Department of Agriculture were constitutional and whether or not the Department exceeded its authority.