News
McDonald’s balks at U.S. cage-free commitment
The Golden Arches is providing corporate pushback to the HSUS call for cage-free eggs. A New York Times story says McDonald’s board of directors has recommended its shareholders vote against requiring that 5 percent of the eggs purchased for the chain’s U.S. restaurants be cage-free.
Some major fast food companies and retailers have already committed to purchasing or selling cage-free eggs, but McDonald’s board says science does not support the switch.
McDonald’s will wait to see what’s revealed in a study by Michigan State University and the University of California, Davis, of different housing options for egg-laying hens.
Even though HSUS says it’s not enough, McDonald’s says its egg suppliers can use cages allowing a minimum 72 square inches of floor space per hen.
McDonald’s has committed to 100 percent cage-free eggs in its European operations by the end of the year because there’s more cage-free egg production infrastructure there.
Tags: Consumer Issues, Poultry
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I emailed the following to McDonalds at:
www1.mcdonalds.com/contactus/navigate.do?link=socialrespDear McDonalds: Thank you very much for standing up to the corporate strong-arm tactics of the Humane Society of the United States in regards to their demands that you switch your US operations over to cage-free eggs.
Most Americans are unaware that while HSUS claims to be about animal welfare, they are in fact an animal radical organization that seeks to put an end to all forms of animal ownership, farming and use and to use social pressure, media intimidation and ill-conceived laws to force all American’s to adopt a strict vegan diet.
Their policies seek to destroy American agriculture as well as the industries that depend upon it: processing, transportation, food and grocery sectors will all collapse and ruin what’s left of our economy. I consider your actions patriotic and support them completely.
The tide of public opinion in regards to HSUS is beginning to change and I would urge you to visit http://www.HumaneWatch.com to see how.
Thanks for making me McHappy today!
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Really? Do you honestly believe that rhetoric you just spouted off? Or is it possible that your anger is getting in the way of your better judgement?
I’m not one to side with the Humane Society on most issues, but in this case I must admit they have a point. I challenge you, draw a 72 square inch box (that’s 6″ x 12″ or 8″ x 9″… yeah, smaller than a sheet of notebook paper!). Now imagine a chicken standing in that space, laying an egg… not exactly much of a roomy nest is it!
No, I’m not vegan, I like a good steak as much as anybody. But I do buy cage-free eggs by choice, to support the local farmer. Yeah it costs more, but I’m supporting a local farm family. Should McDonald’s be forced to shop at the farmer’s market? Well no, of course not. But, should they consider buying a mere 5 percent of their eggs from cage-free sources? I say yes, why not support more local farm families!
I encourage you to face your enemy and their claims, and try to look at the issue from their point of view. The full HSUS report can be viewed online at-
http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/farm/report_2010_iowa_egg.pdf -
Perception is a dangerous thing. Just because it says cage-free on the package doesn’t mean it’s free-range or it’s from a local farmer. There is no one production system that alleviates all animal welfare issues: cages call for cramped quarters, yes, but thousands of chickens crammed in a poultry barn is no better, and is actually more dangerous for the chickens and the workers. Free-range invites diseases. And there’s no evidence to suggest that non-cage eggs taste any better or are healthier for the consumer. I applaud McDonald’s stance in looking to science rather than emotions and consumers should do the same. You want to support a local farmer? Buy directly from a farmers’ market. Better yet, talk to you local poultry farmers to understand how each production system works. Knowledge is a powerful thing.
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Perhaps they are supporting local farmers by not buying “cage free” eggs. There are alot us we “local” family farmers that prefer to use modern technology, vs the 1940’s technology of cage free. The part that concerns me is the part about the EU. If the science is behind it there, why can’t we use same technology. My guess…it’s all politics. Most of the EU is like California…full of fruits and nuts! Yes 72 inches seems small, but do the chickens care. I have seen pictures of “free range” in a building where they all go pile up on one end anyway. So then the difference is that the chicken gets to decide if it wants 72 inches or less…..
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…and to McDonald’s Congratulations may be in order. Perhaps, just perhaps, they have finally realized what some of us told them years ago. These activist groups are like a kid in the candy store. If you agree to do anything they request…they will be back for more! “But we have franchisees complaining about them protesting in front of the stores”……so has any of that gone away? No…they have spent millions and yet…they still complain. The only way to truly make them go away is to “just say NO”. For the most part, when all this stuff started, most of the people complaining,, didn’t eat at McDonald’s anyway. Why are you bending over to someone that doesn’t support your products anyway. But…enter the “socially responsible committee”, the requisite VP and other staff, etc. …and there is PETA and HSUS, just licking their chops. Just say no…and keep saying “NO”!!! Perhaps others will follow.
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You people can go ahead and eat your cage free eggs if thats what you like just remember while they are running around eating thier own poop and other garbage I will be eating eggs from chickens with a strict diet of whole grain corn grown and supplied by our local farmers
Good for McDonalds! At last, a company with the backbone to stand up to the animal rights crazies! HSUS’s requests do not deserve any consideration at all, because they are not in-good-faith requests. HSUS just wants to find excuses to make eggs and all animal products more and more expensive until people can’t afford to eat them at all, because what HSUS is really interested in is getting rid of chickens and eggs entirely and forcing us all to eat vegan. What HSUS always does is keep moving the goal posts – if McDonalds agrees to cage-free eggs, HSUS will simply increase their demands to something more expensive (say, free-range eggs, or fertile eggs, or more space per hen) and so on, until the regulations are so strict that no one can afford to eat eggs. And the same with meat, hunting, circuses, pet ownership, etc. Draw the line in the sand NOW! Don’t let them get any farther!