Chickens are arguably the most abused animals on the planet. Every year these wonderfully intelligent birds are bred and raised and slaughtered in the billions without much concern for their quality of life. However with more and more people becoming aware of how food magically landed on their plate big companies are facing the pressure to operate ethically and McDonalds is no exception.
This week in a watershed move McDonald’s vowed to only use cage-free eggs in the United States and Canada by 2015.
Since 2011 the fast food giant has been purchasing more than 13 million cage free eggs annually but on Wednesday McDonalds pledged to increase that figure over the next 10 years to make up 100 per cent of its egg 2 billion egg purchases a year.
In a statement on the company’s website McDonald’s USA President, Mike Andres said that the business felt the burgeoning need to satisfy its concerned consumers.
“Our customers are increasingly interested in knowing more about their food and where it comes from,” said Andres. “Our decision to source only cage-free eggs reinforces the focus we place on food quality and our menu to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.”
Animal welfare groups who have long called for the end to battery hen operations have praised the move.
“While this change only applies to the restaurant’s North American supply chain, it will have a profound impact on the quality of life of thousands of laying hens in the United States and Canada,” the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies said in a statement.
Paul Shapiro, the vice president of the Humane Society of the United States also congratulated McDonalds on its decision.
“It makes it clearer than ever that cages just do not have a future in the egg industry,” Shapiro told AP.
But it is important to understand that cage-free doesn’t mean cruelty-free – it doesn’t even mean access to the outdoors – but it is a weighty improvement from overcrowded battery cages.
On its website it was not stated if Australian Maccas restaurants would follow a similar cage free move.
For more information about how chickens are raised in Australia visit the RSPCA.
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