Wendy's Attitude toward Animal Welfare: Frosty |
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August 9, 2007
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| Call Wendy's at 1-800-443-7266 x2032, and ask them to meet Burger King's commitment on battery-cage eggs. |
After months of discussions with The HSUS, Wendy's still seems pretty cold-hearted when it comes to the treatment of egg-laying hens. The fast-food chain is still lagging behind its competitor, Burger King, when it comes to reducing cruelty to these birds, even though the company could easily bring itself up to speed.
Unlike Burger King, Wendy's still exclusively uses eggs from birds confined in cages so small they can't even spread their wings. Each caged hen laying eggs for Wendy's has less space than a sheet of letter-sized paper on which to live for more than a year.
On its web site, Wendy's asserts, "All laying hens which produce eggs for Wendy's must have a minimum space requirement of 72 square inches. This requirement is more than 20% above common industry standards."
Of course, 72 square inches is smaller than a sheet of letter-sized paper—hardly something to brag about. But not only is Wendy's lagging behind Burger King by exclusively buying eggs from caged hens, the company is also misleading the public about it. The common egg industry standard is to allot each hen 64-67 square inches of cage space. Seventy-two square inches is only 7 to 12.5 percent, not 20 percent, above the industry standard.
Time for Wendy's to Keep Up with Burger King
In March, Burger King began phasing in the use of cage-free eggs and intends to use five percent cage-free eggs by the end of 2007. And while Wendy's has made some animal welfare improvements recently, when it comes to the treatment of egg-laying hens, the company still trails behind the modest improvements Burger King has made. It hasn't taken a single action to reduce the suffering of these birds.
Over the past few months, The HSUS has urged Wendy's to stop falling behind Burger King and phase in the use of cage-free eggs. The HSUS is now placing ads pointing out Wendy's frosty attitude (PDF) toward reducing the suffering of the birds whose eggs it serves in its restaurants.
Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS's factory farming campaign, commented, "Wendy's should at least meet the standards of its competitors such as Burger King when it comes to the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens in tiny cages."
What You Can Do
Tell Wendy's to warm up to animal welfare and follow in Burger King's footsteps.
Call Wendy's right now at 1-800-443-7266 x2032, and ask it to at least meet Burger King's modest commitment on battery-cage eggs.
Then, download these badges by copying the code below the badge you want and pasting it into your MySpace profile, blog, or other webpage.
Related Links
Cracking Wendy's Egg Claims
Burger King Sets Precedent in Fast Food Sector
The HSUS's Campaign to Ban Battery Cages
Cage-Free Egg Production vs. Battery-Cage Egg Production
Help Farm Animals...Follow the Three Rs
An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Egg Industry
Scientists and Experts on Battery Cages and Laying Hen Welfare
