The importance of a lawsuit that Iowa and other states recently filed against a controversial California egg law goes far beyond eggs, according to Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey.

The California egg law needs to be tossed out because it could easily end up being used as a weapon by activists who don’t like the way farmers in Iowa or other states raise crops or livestock of any type, Northey said. And it could even set off trade battles between states trying to protect their own farmers’ products at the expense of those from other states, he said.

"I think folks may gloss over this...