Not long ago, I blogged about McDonalds being in trouble with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for raising hens in tightly confined cages.
Now it looks like Burger King is going cage-free. The company announced that within the next five years, it will stop using eggs or pork from chicken and pigs kept in small cages. In case you are wondering the impact this might make on the fast food industry, know that there are 12,500 Burger King franchises in the U.S.
The company laid out a new policy in which it is stated that it will go completely cage-free for eggs. It also promised to only purchase pork from suppliers that come up with their own plan to stop using gestation cages. Gestation cages are dreadful metal cages that hold female breeding pigs for almost their entire lives. It is estimated that of the female breeding pigs in the U.S., about 70 percent are kept in these gestation cages where they cannot walk or turn around.
The Chief Brand and Operations Office of Burger King, Jonathan Fitzpatrick, said that Burger King has demonstrated a commitment to animal welfare for the past decade and are proud to be industry leaders in this new policy for more humane standards.
The HSUS supports Burger King in this new policy and think it is a step in the right direction. However, it still claims that the fast food industry still has a long way to go to be truly humane. President and CEO of the HSUS Wayne Pacelle said, “All animals deserve humane treatment, including farm animals, and it’s just wrong to immobilize animals for their whole lives in crates barely larger than their bodies.”
McDonald’s did announce earlier this year that it too would require its pork suppliers to come up with a plan to phase out gestation cages. Others, such as Wendy’s, Red Robin, Sonic, and Subway have also pledged stop purchasing from those using gestation cages, but have a different timeline than Burger King.
The decision on the part of many fast food restaurants to go cage-free seems to be driven by consumers being opposed to the treatment as well as legislation banning gestation cages.