Full-Page USA Today Ad Tells Wendy’s “That’s NOT Right!”

In a full-page USA Today ad, the nation's largest animal protection organization today urges Wendy's to move away from one of the worst factory farming abuses. The ad appears the week that Wendy's celebrates its 39th anniversary.

The Humane Society of the United States, a Wendy's shareholder, placed the ad in the latest step in a months-long campaign urging the fast food chain to follow the lead of Burger King, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. and begin phasing in the use of cage-free eggs.

Unlike these other companies, Wendy's still uses only eggs from hens crammed into battery cages. These abusive cages are so small that birds cannot even spread their wings. Each 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.

Ever since Burger King announced in March that it's starting to switch to using cage-free eggs, The HSUS has urged Wendy's to do the same. HSUS experts have talked with company executives, attended shareholder meetings, commissioned print and radio ads, and responded to Wendy's tired defenses by urging the company to be an industry leader, not laggard. More than 40,000 HSUS supporters have contacted Wendy's asking it to start moving away from eggs from caged hens.

"At a time when Wendy's should be looking to the future, there's absolutely no reason why the company is refusing to join its competitors and move away from battery cage cruelty," stated Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS's factory farming campaign.

Facts

• U.S. factory farms confine nearly 280 million hens in barren battery cages.
• There is a snowballing national movement against battery cages. In addition to decisions by Burger King, Carl's Jr. and Hardees to begin using cage-free eggs,  Wolfgang Puck is ending his use of cage eggs. Several grocery chains, including Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, have stopped selling cage eggs. Companies such as AOL and Google have ended the use of cage eggs in their employee cafeterias.
• While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have 250-300 percent more space per bird and are able to engage in more of their natural behaviors than are caged hens. Cage free hens may not be able to go outside, but they are able to walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens confined in battery cages.

Timeline

• August 2007—Hardee's and Carl's Jr. begin phasing in the use of cage-free eggs.
• August 2007—Wendy's expands its new breakfast menu to the 500th restaurant.
• August 2007—The HSUS launches a campaign publicly asking Wendy's to stop defending its exclusive use of eggs from caged hens.
• July 2007—Wendy's announces some improvements, although it still lags behind Burger King.
• March 2007—Burger King begins phasing in the use of cage-free eggs.
• March 2007—Wolfgang Puck announces the implementation of a wide-ranging program to improve animal welfare in his supply chain, including not using battery cage eggs.
• September 2006—Ben & Jerry's announces that it is phasing out the use of eggs from caged hens in its ice creams.
• May 2005—Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace announce that they have ended sales of eggs from caged hens.
• November 2003—The Better Business Bureau rules that it is misleading to label eggs from battery-caged hens as "Animal Care Certified."
• 2000-2002—McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's require that their meat and egg suppliers abide by very modest animal welfare standards.

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