In a move that I'm sure has animal rights activists everywhere celebrating, Burger King has announced that they are to begin purchasing a portion of their eggs and pork products from suppliers that do not keep their animals in cages or crates. In letters sent to PETA, BK outlined their new company supply guidelines. Ten percent of their pork already comes from suppliers who don't use sow gestation crates, and they plan to double that number by the end of 2007. They are also planning to source 2 percent of their egg purchases from hens that are not confined, a number they also plan to double by year end.
Though 2 percent may seem almost insignificant at first, Burger King's buying power could force more and more suppliers to switch to cage-free environments for their animals. Never wanting to be upstaged, I'm sure McDonald's and some of the other big names in fast food are likely to follow this example as well.











