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Ryan Gosling, Zooey Deschanel, others pen letter to McDonald's CEO

December 19, 2011

A handful of celebrities have fired off a letter to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner asking the QSR giant to adopt "strict and meaningful animal welfare policies worldwide."

The impetus behind the campaign, spearheaded by Mercy for Animals, is McDonald's continued support of egg factory farms in the U.S. that confine hens in small cages.

Although the chain has already established a 100 percent cage-free purchasing policy in Europe, and dropped supplier Sparboe Farms after a recent investigation revealed cruel practices, McDonald's has yet to implement any animal welfare policies specifically addressing hen confinement, according to a release.

On behalf of Mercy for Animals, the letter sent to Skinner was signed by Ryan Gosling; Zooey Deschanel; Emily Deschanel; Alicia Silverstone; Maria Menounos; Kristin Bauer; Ed Begley, Jr.; Wendie Malick; Bryan Adams and Steve-O. It asked McDonald's to "help end the needless suffering of these animals by adopting strict and meaningful animal welfare policies worldwide, including the commitment to prohibit the purchase of eggs produced by hens who spend their miserable lives crammed into tiny wire cages."

The letter continues:

"... your U.S. restaurants continue to support egg factory farms that confine hens for most of their lives in cages so small they can't even spread their wings. These poor birds never get to walk, run, perch, roost, dustbathe, build nests, see the sun, breathe fresh air, or do nearly anything that comes naturally to them. Common sense tells us that animals with legs and wings should be given the basic freedom to move.

Sadly, there is not a single federal law to protect hens from cruelty from the time they hatch to the time they are killed. While McDonald's brags about the "billions and billions served," millions of hens exploited for your restaurants are being grossly underserved. In fact, these animals are being abused in ways that could land your egg suppliers in jail, if dogs or cats were the victims ...

It's a good time for some great changes at McDonald's. As the largest egg buyer in the entire country, McDonald's has the power — and the moral responsibility — to ensure that the eggs in its Egg McMuffins don't come from rotten egg suppliers."

The letter can be read in full here.

Requests for McDonald's to use cage-free eggs are not new. The Humane Society presented a resolution in 2009 and continues to address McDonald's shareholders about the issue.

McDonald's USA entered into a commercial-scale study along with leading animal welfare scientists, academics, non-government organizations (NGOs) and egg suppliers of housing alternatives for egg-laying hens, including cage-free housing, in 2009.

The company outlines its commitment to ensuring that animals are "free from cruelty, abuse and neglect" on its website. McDonald's also admits its support of suppliers who use both cage and cage-free laying hens within its supply chain.

"This is supported by the fact that there remains disagreement among scientists globally about how to balance the pros and cons of each laying hen housing system. Cage-free/free-range systems, for instance, allow birds to exhibit more natural behaviors, but cage systems may pose less risk with regard to the spread of infectious diseases," the website says.

Read more about the supply chain.