Burger King To Buy Cage-Free Food
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 03.28.07
The New York Times reports that Burger King announced yesterday that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that did not confine their animals in cages and crates. The company said that it would also favor suppliers of chickens that use gas, or “controlled-atmospheric stunning,” rather than electric shocks to knock birds unconscious before slaughter. Few slaughterhouses use this method, although it considered more humane.
Burger King also said it's goal for the coming months is ensure that 2% of its eggs to be “cage free,” and for 10% of its pork to come from farms that allow sows to move around inside pens, rather than being confined to crates. The company hopes to increase these numbers as the prices become more competitive. While Burger King’s initial goals may be modest, food marketing experts and animal welfare advocates said yesterday that the shift would put pressure on other restaurant and food companies to adopt similar practices.
:: Via NYT (subscription required).
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Good for them, more companies will have to follow as the health care "system" - and I use that phrase loosly is having to deal with the after effect of hormone, and pesticide infested produce.
an excellent first move in the fight against factory farms, a good step indeed to get back to the good old days of farming
Hooray for Burger King. Let's hope it works out for them, so that other companies will jump on the "bandwagon." I always like BK the best, anyways! They've offered veggie burgers for years!
I wonder if any chemicals from gassing the chickens stay in the meat? Guess I don't have to worry, as I don't eat the stuff.
Also: is 2% going to be enough to spark the interest of other "restaurant and food companies?" I imagine they will see it as I do: a trial run, easily dropped at a moment's notice. The 10% for pork may be significant, but then how much pork does BK use/sell?
Burger King has also been a pioneer with its BK Veggie burger available since 2001. In Canada this burger is made by Sol Cuisine and is vegan. The U.S. version contains egg whites. Their French fries are vegan. For more information see Veg.ca's Fast Food Report
Btw: I think Joy might be referring to the waste from factory farms and feedlots that can contaminate produce farms with E. coli. This may lesson due to Burger King’s action, as long as they don’t stop at 2%.
While this is an excellent step for the humane treatment of animals, we all need to remember that this type of farming is just not sustainable in our world today if one figures in how much animal product is eaten in the average Western diet.
Burger King has also been a pioneer with its BK Veggie burger available since 2001. In Canada this burger is made by Sol Cuisine and is vegan. The U.S. version contains egg whites. Their French fries are vegan. For more information see Veg.ca's Fast Food Report
Btw: I think Joy might be referring to the waste from factory farms and feedlots that can contaminate produce farms with E. coli. This may lesson due to Burger King’s action, as long as they don’t stop at 2%.
its surprising that burger king hasn't mentioned this in their commercials yet, most companies only do this kind of thing for publicity.
Horray for small first steps! At least it puts the issue out there...
On the one hand, when the great big customers get serious, that's when better practices stop being a requirement in certain expensive niche markets. If Burger King really means it about switching, even gradually, to suppliers tha treat animals better, it could start creating the economies of scale that'll make the practices mainstream.
But then there's the debacle of salads with more fat and calories than burger combos, which is more for show (and to cater to self-deluding customers) than part of any serious effort to offer healthier options.
I'll believe it when I see it, in other words.
Oh hey cage-free, this makes it all better! (sarcasm implied)
If it's all about PR and making money, I think they'd make more money by selling high-fat, high sugar all vegetable-based food. Vegetables don't move around, are cheap to grow and you don't have to stun or execute them.
About time! But 2% and 10%? Doesn't seem like much to me. Still, a little improvement is better than none at all.
I have to say that this is a meager attept at best. Ok, first of all this is not really an attempt to better anyones lives is it? People that eat at fast food restaurants are not the least bit worried about animal cruelty or factory farms. They might be concerned to find out that men have sex with chickens at those places or that 95% of cattle has pneumonia by the time they are slaughtered. Maybe not.
So is this an attempt to get people with a healthier diet in mind to eat there? Or is it Burger King's geniuine concern for their customers health? Concern for animals? Too little too late. Gas the chickens? I don't get it. I really don't.
I heard that there is a pig farm in Utah that produces more waste than the city of Los Angeles.
There is no "humane" way to kill animals, as they do not wish to die. It is against their will. As far as cage-free is concerned, people need to visit these farms to see what a farce this alleged "improvement" is. The conditions are still horrific, let alone the ultimate journey to the slaughterhouse, i.e. "rendering plant". Those places are sheer hell. Visit one: www.meetyourmeat.com
Watch your labes, folks. Cage-free, Free Range, Free Farmed, Vegetarian, Organic, etc. - What do they mean?
I encourage any conscious egg consumer to do some research. Most of the terms above are not regulated and the ones that are have loopholes that defeat the purpose.
If you have a farmer's market, get your eggs there!