MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Sept. 9, 2015) - McDonald's announced plans to eliminate the currently-standard practice of confining egg-laying hens in cages from its supply chain by switching to 100 percent cage-free eggs for its Canadian and U.S. operations - a move that will spare nearly 8 million animals each year from life inside cramped cages.
McDonald's decision follows a multi-year study the company helped fund into the myriad animal welfare, economic, food safety and market factors around cage confinement and cage-free housing. It also follows a decades-long global movement against the extreme confinement of farm animals that HSI partner The Humane Society of the United States helped spearhead - a movement which has included:
- nearly 100 major companies - including McDonald's - announcing plans to abandon tight cages for breeding pigs called gestation crates;
- industry titans like Burger King, Nestle, Sodexo, Aramark, Heinz, Starbucks, Compass Group and many more announcing similar conversions to 100 percent cage-free eggs;
- and prohibitions on certain forms of confinement in 10 U.S. states and dozens of nations.
Specifically, McDonald's announcement commits the company to reaching a 100 percent cage-free egg supply chain within the next 10 years.
Humane Society International/Canada is a leading force for animal protection, with active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammal preservation, farm animal welfare and animals in research. HSI/Canada is proud to be a part of Humane Society International, which, together with its partners, constitutes one of the world's largest animal protection organizations. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide - on the Web at www.hsicanada.ca
Contact Information:
Christopher Pare
o: 514 395-2914
c: 438 402-0643
cpare@hsi.org