- Log In
- |
- Register
- Your Profile
- |
- Log Out

Dow

+89.16

13090.72

+0.69%

S&P 500

+18.72

1390.69

+1.36%

Wil 5K

+0.00

14440.67

+0.00

Nasdaq

+68.03

3029.63

+2.30%

EAFE

+0.72

53.52

+1.36%

OPEC Oil

+0.30

115.80

+0.26%

10Y Yield

-0.00

1.99

-0.13%

Scroll Left Scroll Right

U.S. Justices to allow Ariz. immigration law? 1 of 9
Political Hotsheet Gingrich plans to suspend campaign next week 2 of 9
Video Oprah Winfrey's advice to younger self 3 of 9
World N. Korea: Our "powerful" weapons can strike U.S. 4 of 9
CBS Evening News Ariz. immigration law casts chill on all residents 5 of 9
Politics Ex-Edwards aide: I was sick of living with Hunter 6 of 9
U.S. TSA screeners charged in LA drug trafficking probe 7 of 9
Celebrity Circuit Beyonce named People's most beautiful woman 8 of 9
Markets & Investing Burger King makes cage-free promise 9 of 9

April 25, 2012 9:51 AM

Print
Text

Burger King makes cage-free promise

(CBS/AP)

(AP) The movement by U.S. food corporations toward more humane treatment of animals experienced a whopper of a shift Wednesday when Burger King (BKC) announced that all of its eggs and pork will come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017.

The decision by the world's second-biggest fast-food restaurant raises the bar for other companies seeking to appeal to the rising consumer demand for more humanely produced fare.

"So many tens of thousands of animals will now be in better living conditions," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, which has been pushing Burger King and other corporations to consider animal welfare in purchasing policies. "Numerically this is significant because Burger King is such a big purchaser of these products."

How Burger King is revamping its menu
Burger King returning to Wall Street

The decision by Burger King, which uses hundreds of millions of eggs and tens of millions of pounds of pork annually, could represent a game-change in the egg and pork supply business as a huge new market has opened up for humanely raised food animals. Already 9 percent of the company's eggs and 20 percent of its pork are cage-free.

The Miami-based company steadily has been increasing its use of cage-free eggs and pork as the industry has become better able to meet demand, said Jonathan Fitzpatrick, chief brand and operations officer. He said the decision is part of the company's social responsibility policy.

"We believe this decision will allow us to leverage our purchasing power to ensure the appropriate and proper treatment of animals by our vendors and suppliers," he said.

Earlier this year, McDonalds (MCD) and Wendy's (WEN) announced that they have asked their pork suppliers to outline their plans for elimination of gestation crates without setting a timetable.

The issue of the treatment of pigs raised for pork has recently developed. This year, Smithfield Farms and Hormel committed to ending the use of gestation crates by 2017.

"This is an issue that just four to five months ago was not on the food industry's radar," said Paul Shapiro, vice president for farm animal protection at HSUS. "Now it's firmly cemented into the mainstream in a way that I think few people would have imagined.

Last month, the pork industry's trade magazine editorialized for an end to the practice saying "on the issue of gestation-sow stalls, at least, it's increasingly apparent that you will lose the battle."

HSUS has been pushing for more than a decade for large-scale purchasers of animal products to ensure that they are raised humanely. The organization owns stock in 52 companies that use animal products so that it can attend shareholder meetings and submit proposals for improved animal welfare policy.

It also has used undercover operations to show the conditions some food animals endure.

Conventionally raised eggs come from hens confined in battery cages that give them roughly the same footprint as an 8½ by 11 sheet of paper. Most pork comes from sows that are confined during their four-month pregnancies in narrow crates.

"For every cage-free egg or piece of bacon from a gestation-free pork system that Burger King sells, animals have been spared lifelong confinement in a cage so small they can barely even move," said Matthew Prescott, the HSUS food policy director.

20 Comments +

Add a Comment

See all 20 Comments


by credibility2 April 25, 2012 4:33 PM EDT: The majority of consumers don't care about these issues. It's a small minority of eco zealots who care more about animals than they do humans. Starbucks caved into pressure from vegans over the crushed bug coloring controversy. Silly. And, BTW, cage-free can also mean that the cramped cage has a small opening allowing for some to occasionally get out and roam a very short distance....cage-free doesn't mean the beasts are roaming around the great spanse of land. There is no government definition for what constitutes cage-free.; Reply to this comment


by meatrex1 April 25, 2012 3:51 PM EDT: I prefer muscular chickens and pigs. So I'm all for the improved work out conditions Burger King is suggesting.; Reply to this comment


by farmwife40years April 25, 2012 3:18 PM EDT: some people don't have a clue about farm life - the animals on family farms are treated very well - they eat before most of their owners eat - they are taken care in the worst of winter and the heat of summer - chickens are caged to protect them from coyotes and farm machinery that might injure them or kill them - the family farm is a business with a lot of blood, sweat and even tears - right now the wheat has headed out a month early due to weather conditions - we are concerned that with a killing frost it could ruin a crop that has taken a long time to grow - and provides the income for many people - or between now and harvest it could hail and that has the potential to wipe out a crop -
when you say how you can't believe the way animals are treated - get a clue - you sit in the city and decide to become vegetarians or only eat organic and you just don't know what you are talking about - and yes, I know - I grew up in the city and have had my eyes opened to the many hardships of raising beef, pigs, chickens, and the plants you say you might eat if grown under very strict guidelines that you believe protect you from the horrible things that we might put on your food - and really check out Chipotle before you say that's the only thing you'll eat - are they really treating all their meat any better than any other restaurant or fast food joint - I don't know - I just wonder if you've visited all the places they get their product from -
Be careful whose toes you step on - the average farmer feeds at least 75 people - that's the average small farmer in America - there are starving kids in this world that would give anything for a good meal of beef from livestock raised on the average American farm -; Reply to this comment


by tomanyt April 25, 2012 3:12 PM EDT: Burger King makes cage-free promise --- So? Why should we believe Burger King?; Reply to this comment


by THALES457 April 25, 2012 2:30 PM EDT: WHAT ABOUT THE WHEAT THAT MUST STAND IN THE HOT SUN DAY AFTER DAY?; Reply to this comment


by curious2knownow April 25, 2012 2:05 PM EDT: First of all, I believe Burger King is the 3rd largest fast food chain, Wendy's is 2nd. Secondly, being originally from California, I have to say California has no happy cows since almost all of them are caged. Since moving to Missouri, the majority of their cows are open pasture and much happier. It's only the last week or so of their life that the reality of their existence sets in. Although I applaud Burger King in making this move, it's to bad they have to do it as a knee jerk reaction to losing market share rather than the humanity the move implies.; Reply to this comment

by Scud13 April 25, 2012 1:22 PM EDT

Cage free doesn't mean a whole lot.

Reply to this comment


by lesserof2evil April 25, 2012 1:49 PM EDT: Like the value of your statement?


by RichZubaty April 25, 2012 12:48 PM EDT: Good for them. I want healthy food. They get my business. And how bout that pink slime? Their burgers certainly don't taste as good as when I was growing up.; Reply to this comment


by rearley1980 April 25, 2012 12:47 PM EDT: Great news. Thank you Burger King for stepping up. I would like to see most of our produce organically grown and our meats and poultry chemical-freein this country. In my mind...no reason why it shouldn't be with the USA's ingenuity and technology busting at the seams. Time for us to grow as a country in the food manufacturing industry!; Reply to this comment


by Transatlantique April 25, 2012 12:46 PM EDT: Now, they need to make a meat free version of their junk food, e.g. Veggie Burger King, and only then might I consider eating there.; Reply to this comment

See all 20 Comments

Popular Now in MoneyWatch

Latest CBS News Headlines

Burger King makes cage-free promise

Report offensive content:

E-mail this comment to a friend.

CBS This Morning iPad App