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McDonalds announcement an important indication

 A thought leader in food and agriculture says the McDonald’s announcement is an important indication of things to come. 

Charlie Arnot, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Food Integrity tells Brownfield McDonald’s move to cage-free eggs has implications for agriculture and the entire supply chain, BUT… 

“I don’t think necessarily everybody in the food system is going to go cage-free, there are lots of ways to provide for the wellbeing of hens, based on the variety of different systems,” said Arnot. “But it is an important announcement, it is an important indication of what some companies are doing and I think we will continue to see pressure for agriculture to continue to evolve and modify practices in a way that are both scientifically sound and supported by consumer values.” 

Arnot says an important point for agriculture to take away from the announcement is the 10-year transition and phase in period to cage-free production. 

The CEO of the Center for Food Integrity also says the message McDonald’s is sending to consumers and to agriculture, by switching to cage-free eggs, is slightly different. 

For agriculture the message is agriculture needs to stay engaged in the conversation with food system stakeholders. 

“We need to embrace the fact that science alone in a vacuum is not going to be the deciding factor for whether or not what we do in agriculture is going to be accepted by the public,” said Arnot. “I think what it signals to consumers is that McDonald’s and others are listening and trying to be more proactive.” 

Arnot says it’s important agriculture become more involved, helping consumers understand not what agriculture does, but why agriculture does what they do. And to talk about what agriculture does that have positive consumer and social benefits.

Audio: Charlie Arnot, CEO, Center for Food Integrity