McDonald's orders farmers to treat laying hens better

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August 23, 2000

Web posted at: 8:50 AM EDT (1250 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/08/23/mcdonalds.eggs.ap/index.html

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- McDonald's Corp. wants to make life easier for the chickens

that supply its eggs and is ordering farmers to give the hens more space and

stop the practice of withholding food and water to increase egg production.

 

Under the new rules, which were distributed to the fast-food restaurant chain's

27 suppliers Tuesday, caged hens must have 72 square inches of space, compared

to about 50 square inches now. With the larger space, all the hens should be

able to lie down at once.

 

The standards were recommended to the company by a panel of scientific advisers

that McDonald's formed to address concerns about the way food animals are being

treated, said Robert Langert, senior director of public and community affairs

for McDonald's.

 

" This is our pathway to be a leader on this issue, " Langert said.

 

The European Union already bans the practice of " forced molting, " which involves

removing food and water from hens for 5 days to two weeks. It's been linked to

an increased incidence of harmful salmonella bacteria in eggs.

 

McDonald's also wants to phase out the practice of trimming the beaks of hens,

which is done to prevent them from injuring each other.

 

A spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Bruce Friedrich,

praised the new egg rules.

 

" It's the bare minimum of bare minimums that you refuse to starve and dehydrate

animals to death, " he said.

 

Over the past two years, McDonald's also has required beef and pork processors

to improve their handling of livestock prior to slaughter. McDonald's, which has

long been targeted by animal rights activists, conducts regular audits of the

packing plants to determine whether the animals are being treated humanely and

will suspend purchases from slaughterhouses that don't meet the company's

standards.

 

" This has been a natural evolution from our animal welfare program, " Langert

said of the egg rules.

 

McDonald's gave its suppliers until the first quarter of next year to stop

forced molting and until the end of the year to comply with the space

requirement.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/08/23/mcdonalds.eggs.ap/index.html

 

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