McDonald’s delays on cruelty-free eggs
MCDONALD’S South Africa came under fire again this week for dragging its heels in committing to using cage-free eggs.
This after the fast food chain announced this week that it intends sourcing cage-free eggs in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2025.
Similar commitments were made by McDonald’s in the US, Canada, the EU, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
Yet McDonald’s South Africa said it was still assessing the feasibility of taking these steps.
Greg Solomon, chief executive of the company, said: “We will be in a better position to make our announcement by the end of this year.”
Four animal protection g roups, Beauty without Cruelty SA, United Front 4 Animals (UFA), OWL South African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) and Animal Voice, the official South African representative of Compassion in World Farming, are promoting the move and supporting a petition en- couraging McDonald’s South Africa to adopt a cage-free egg policy.
To date, more than 17 600 people have signed the petition.
Student activist Yolanda Guse, 23, who has helped spearhead the campaign, said it wasn’t acceptable for McDonald’s South Africa to be so indecisive.
“They keep saying they will research, but they don’t commit. There is nothing to research. Cage-free is better for the chickens and for business.”
Guse said customers who realise the cruelty of sourcing eggs from battery hens will stop buying McDonald’s foods.
“My family has raised chickens since I was four. We have always had freshly laid eggs and chickens that are raised in a cruelty-free way.
“We’re targeting McDonald’s SA because their international counterparts have made this commitment and McDonald’s SA won’t do the same.
“Caged hens live in a cage the size of an A4 sheet of paper, unable to flap their wings, perch or nest. They have no sunlight or fresh air.