McDonald's Waging a Chicken-and-Egg Battle

McDonald's current hen conditions

• 72
  the size in square inches of space McDonald's allots each egg-producing hen, smaller than a sheet of paper and leaving little room to move
• 5
  the percentage of hens the Humane Society wanted McDonald's to raise outside of battery cages; they declined

• » Going cage-free: McDonald's is one of the largest chains not to switch to cage-free hen raising. In its own annual report, the company notes that Burger King, Wendy's, Denny's, Quiznos, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's use cage-free eggs.
• » They already do it overseas: The U.S. chain's board of directors recommended to keep the policy the same, but the company already uses cage-free hens in the U.K. and Australia, and plans to follow the European Union's lead in changing the policy next year.
• » Also of note: In the board's recent proxy statement, it also declined a related suggestion from PETA regarding the humane slaughter of chickens. This has a lot of parallels to the Humane Society's case: Other major fast-food chains were already moving in the general direction, and the board also claimed that there wasn't enough scientific evidence to back up the changes but said it was looking into it. (One difference? They criticized PETA for being PETA.)

Pros and cons of cage-free

• The Benefits
  According to a Pew study on conditions for farm animals, the use of battery cage confinement helps make food production cheaper and more efficient, and helps the animals avoid getting diseases that can be spread to humans (such as salmonella) and protects them from bad weather.
• The Downsides
  The efficiency gains come at the cost of significant animal suffering. The same study notes that battery cages greatly limit the birds' movements. The spaces are so tight that the chickens (and farm animals in similar conditions) remain in constant pain. source

Humane Society's take: Hens are safer cage-free

"While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have better lives than those confined in battery cages. The ability to lay their eggs in nests, walk and spread their wings are tangible benefits that shouldn't be underestimated."

McDonald's take: More research has to be done

• Looking for alternatives
  While McDonald's is leaning against a switch right now, the fast-food company joined the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply, a part of the controversial industry-backed Center for Food Integrity, last year. The research group has a large-scale test, which includes cage-free farming as one option, planned for next year.
• Backed by big business
  The egg-friendly group includes major restaurants (including the owner of IHOP and Applebee's), major food producers (including Bob Evans Farms), major universities (largely schools known for their agricultural histories, such as Michigan State University) and the American Humane Association (not the Humane Society).
• "Research is unclear"
  The coalition says it is looking for alternatives to battery cages but does not limit itself to cage-free eggs. "One of the great challenges to adopting cage-free housing in the U.S. is that research in this area is unclear and scientists disagree about the impacts on several sustainability variables," the organization writes in its FAQ.

The real reason: Major cost differences?

• Simply put: Cage-free eggs cost way more. If you were to go to your grocery store and buy a dozen cage-free eggs, how much would you pay, versus your standard "Grade A," battery-caged eggs? The USDA keeps track of this data weekly. So, while we may not know how much Mickey D's pays wholesale (most assuredly less, because they make lots of Egg McMuffins), we can probably get an idea from the eggs you find at Safeway or Kroger. Let's check the most recent weekly results:

• $1.11
  cost of a dozen Grade A eggs at retail, on average, according to the USDA
• $2.79
  cost of a dozen cage-free eggs at retail; organic eggs cost even more
• 14¢
  the markup a cage-free egg adds to the cost, at least for retail source

• » What this may mean: Let's put it this way: Even if McDonald's pays a quarter of the retail price for its eggs, that's still a 3.5-cent premium on each egg. And McDonald's uses millions of eggs daily in the U.S. alone. So, even a modest surcharge can cost the company significant amounts of money yearly. Which is probably why it is looking for more efficient ways to appease the Humane Society.