McDonald's Decides Cage-Free Eggs Are for the Birds

by Naomi Shulman, Posted Apr 15th 2010 @ 12:00PM

AFP/Getty Images

The New York Times's blog Green, Inc. recently exposed McDonald's U.S. board's reaction to a modest proposal suggested by the Humane Society: Switch out a mere 5 percent of their regular eggs to the cage-free variety. (Right now, McDonald's egg-laying hens are restricted in what are called "battery cages," which offer each hen smaller space than a piece of letter-sized paper -- for almost their entire lives.) This would not appear to be a radical suggestion; fast-food joints such as Burger King, Wendy's, Hardee's, and Quiznos all use cage-free eggs. And actually, so does McDonald's -- but only overseas. Its European and UK restaurants use cage-free eggs exclusively, and Australia seems to be moving toward that policy as well.

To add weight to the argument, in a proxy statement that outlines McDonald's board recommendations to its U.S. shareholders, the board concedes that eggs produced in the current McDonald's conditions have a 250% higher likelihood of containing Salmonella. "The Center for Food Safety, Consumer Federation of America and Center for Science in the Public Interest have all opposed battery cages and the Pew Commission recommendations were also based on food safety concerns," the statement admits. Furthermore, the legislative trend in the U.S. is moving away from battery cages -- California and Michigan are in the process of phasing them out, and more states are expected to follow.

So, cage-free systems result in happier hens and healthier eggs. And, again, the proposal put before McDonald's shareholders is hardly sweeping; 95 percent of their eggs would still come from battery cages, so the change should be relatively simple to implement. It may seem like an obvious yes, right?

Wrong. In the proxy statement, the board states that they are waiting for data to come in. "As we have examined this issue over the years, we have determined that there is no agreement in the global scientific community about how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of laying hen housing systems," they insist. "Furthermore, there seems to be a significant gap in scientific knowledge related to a wide range of sustainability impacts of laying hen housing-environmental impact, food safety, worker safety, animal health and well-being, and food affordability [emphasis ours]."

Maybe it's hard to argue with the business strategies of a company that continues to grow despite massive negative P.R. Maybe, in light of that, the board's recommendations make perfect sense. Still, this CafeMom blogger is probably not alone in her reaction: "The board fighting against progress is just another example of irresponsible behavior by a leader in the fast food industry, and another reason why I will never take my family to a McDonald's."

Filed Under: Fast Food
Tags: cage free eggs, cage free hens, humane society, mcdonalds

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-15-2010 @12:56PM Martha said... Well, it's not like I can boycott them, since I already don't eat there, but I wish I could.
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4-15-2010 @5:27PM Michael Schmitt said... I used to work on a chicken farm that had Human Society standard cages and free-range organic chickens. The normal death rate of the chickens in the standard cages was lower than the death rate of the organic chickens. When I asked the person in charge of the flocks why this was, he answered, "The free range chickens are allowed to give in to their instinct of having a pecking order, and the slight increase in death rates in the organic houses is due to the organic chickens being pecked to death."

After that, I wasn't sure what was more humane: chickens in cages that weren't allowed to give in to their pecking order instincts, or the free range ones that were allowed to....

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4-19-2010 @1:31PM Amanda said... Cage-free and free range are also exposed to many more potential problems than caged....for instance: in free-range they are open to predators such as hawks, foxes, etc., also open to the weather (blazing hot, freezing cold, rain, etc) so their mortality can be around 3 times higher than caged. While cage free are better than free range they still face issues such as disease. In caged the hens are kept separate from manure, if cage free they walk around in it, lay their eggs in it, and unfortunately eat it and can get coccidiosis which will basically make their insides bleed. So while caged limit their freedom, if the producer is UEP certified the birds are kept in a human manner so that they can stand up, turn around, move freely and hav access to food and water 100% of the time. HSUS love to say they can't stretch their wings....1) that is false if they are UEP certified 2) do we as humans stand around w/ our arms extended all day long? I think not! Cage-free mortality rate are twice of caged....hope this helps explain!

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5-27-2010 @2:25PM Sue said... Amanda,
Although you're right that we humans do not "stand around w/our arms extended all day long," even more importantly, we humans do not stand around with our arms "pinned to our sides" all day. Ideally, if you can find true range-free chickens in your area, then buy eggs directly from them. The eggs I buy are only $1.30/doz and they taste so good. The owner feeds them ahealthy diet (not just corn), they can scratch in a huge area in the grass for bugs and worms, and they have wonderful hen houses. The owners keep that area very clean. They just look like very happy chickens. I've found some sources not too far from home that sell range-free chickens and beef. I plan to start buying my meat from them. I just can't stand the thought of animals forced to live tortuous lives from the moment they're born. Yes, I eat meat! But not as much as I used to. I believe the animals I eat should live free of torture up until the time they are humanely slaughtered.

Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/15/mcdonalds-decides-cage-free-eggs-are-for-the-birds/#ixzz0p9cfLHXk

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4-16-2010 @7:35AM gobo said... I can only assume that McDonalds' thinks American consumers aren't worth the effort to produce a quality product. They don't respect the people who buy food at their stores, which is fine, because I don't respect them, either.
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