McDonald's Decision
McDonald's has dropped an egg supplier after Mercy For Animals, an animal rights group, exposed cruel treatment of the chickens. Their investigation of Sparboe's facilities was conducted over three month in their facilities in three States. That then caused the Food and Drug Administration to start an investigation. They also found filthy conditions and unacceptable rodent activity. Sparboe is the fifth largest egg producer and marketer in the United States. You may remember that last year that more than a half billion eggs were recalled after Salmonella sickened more than 1,000 people. That was the largest egg recall in U.S. history. Sparboe's eggs were involved in that recall.
McDonald's has dropped an egg supplier after Mercy For Animals, an animal rights group, exposed cruel treatment of the chickens. Their investigation of Sparboe's facilities was conducted over three month in their facilities in three States. That then caused the Food and Drug Administration to start an investigation. They also found filthy conditions and unacceptable rodent activity. Sparboe is the fifth largest egg producer and marketer in the United States. You may remember that last year that more than a half billion eggs were recalled after Salmonella sickened more than 1,000 people. That was the largest egg recall in U.S. history. Sparboe's eggs were involved in that recall.
A warning letter was issued to the owner of Sparboe Farms on the 16th of November 2011. The FDA inspected five egg production facilities in order to protect consumers and prevent salmonella. The facilities were in Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota.
The FDA letter warned that the eggs may have been contaminated by filth and could be a health hazard. The agency also warned of unacceptable rodent activity. Mercy For Animals exposed not only the unsanitary conditions but also the inhumane treatment of the animals. Sparboe hired a worker, who was an undercover investigator for Mercy For Animals. Of course Sparboe did not know that. The investigator was wired with a pin-hole camera. He documented many cases of horrible animal neglect and abuse.
If you go to Mercy For Animals' website you will see living hens in the same cages with dead ones. They show chicks having their beaks cut and then thrown into cages. They also showed living chicks being thrown away in plastic bags along with dead ones. I must admit that I could not go to that web site. I saw excerpts from the web site on ABC's Nightline and that was enough for me. It is really horrible.
McDonald's VP said that they demand humane treatment of animals by their suppliers. I hope that they mean it and they are not just saying it because it is the PR thing to do. My personal opinion is that McDonald's executives really do not care how the animals are being treated. They just did what they feel was best for their company. Whatever their reason, at least the decision is helping the chickens.
Insert date: 2011-11-24 Last update: 2011-11-24
