It's Time to Demand a Cage-Free Egg McMuffin

by Annie Hartnett · 2010-12-10 05:00:00 UTC
Topics:

McDonald's advertises their Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich as made with: "A fresh Grade A egg with warm Canadian bacon and a slice of melty cheese, held together by a freshly toasted English muffin."

I guess "melty cheese"  sounds more appetizing than "Processed American Cheese," but the real false advertising here is the  "fresh Grade A egg." More accurately, it should say: "a factory-farm-fresh egg produced by hens crammed into cages so small they can't extend their wings." Oh yeah, and would you like a side of salmonella with that?

McDonald's currently uses eggs from hens raised in battery cages, which is terrible for animal welfare and is also a threat to public health. Following this summer's salmonella outbreak, the Humane Society of the United States is urging McDonald's to transition to cage-free eggs. Studies have found that cage-free egg facilities have significantly lower rates of salmonella contamination than cage facilities.

With millions of McMuffins served, it would be extremely meaningful for Mickey D's to go cage-free. Cage-free hens have two to three times more space than caged hens do. Cage-free hens still have part of their beaks removed, and are often denied access to the outdoors, but they can at least walk around and spread their wings.

Earlier this year, McDonald's rejected a proposal put forward by the HSUS, asking the fast food joint to switch to just 5 percent cage-free eggs at their U.S. restaurants.

Shortly after McDonald's neglected to take that small step for animal welfare, over 1,300 people were sickened from salmonella after consuming factory-farmed eggs. Even if Mickey D's doesn't give a hoot about their chickens, hopefully these new food safety concerns will make them re-evaluate their egg policies.

McDonald’s competitors, such as Burger King and Wendy’s, have already gone cage-free. And McDonald's Europe committed to being 100 percent cage-free by the end of 2010. A spokeswoman for McDonald’s explained that there was a high consumer demand for cage-free eggs in Europe.

Sign the petition to tell McDonald's to go cage-free in the United States. If consumers keep demanding cage-free eggs, eventually McDonald's will crack.

Photo Credit: kawanet

Annie Hartnett is a writer and animal advocate who has worked for several wildlife rehabilitation centers and environmental programs.

RELATED PETITION

Tell McDonald's: We Want Cage-Free Eggs
SIGN PETITION
3,396 People
PREVIOUS STORY:
Dogs Left Out in the Cold by Harrison County Officials
NEXT STORY:
Petitions Delivered Around the World for Release of Indonesian Circus Dolphins

COMMENTS (58)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.