News

Sonic honored by the Humane Society

January 5, 2011

Sonic Corp. was honored by the Humane Society of the United States today for its forward-thinking animal welfare policy.

The acknowledgment came at Sonic’s annual shareholder meeting at its Oklahoma City, Okla. headquarters.

At the center of the recognition is Sonic’s effort in 2010 to phase in cage-free eggs and pork from suppliers that do not confine breeding pigs in gestation crates. 

“The Humane Society of the United States applauds Sonic for its work improving conditions for animals in its supply chain,” said Matthew Prescott, corporate outreach director for The HSUS’s factory farming campaign. “By starting to move away from suppliers that cram animals in cages and crates, Sonic has taken an important first step forward for animal welfare.”

Sonic’s animal welfare policy was updated this year to include provisions that affect its egg and pork supply chain. As part of the policy, Sonic is asking its suppliers to focus on training and auditing in order to have a successful animal welfare program. 

"The humane treatment of livestock results in a better quality product for our guests," the policy states. "We fully expect and require all of our suppliers to utilize the highest industry standards when dealing with livestock. We encourage programs and actions that facilitate continuous improvement over the long-term. Sonic believes that programs developed on an understanding of the issues, using science-based policies and standards, are typically more successful and sustainable in the long-term.
 
The company developed priorities in three areas:

• Laying hens – Sonic requires its egg suppliers to meet United Egg Producer (UEP) standards for housing and other poultry practices. Beginning in 2010, Sonic will begin phasing in the sourcing of cage-free eggs and source at least 1 percent cage-free eggs. It will increase 1 percent annually to achieve 5 percent cage-free eggs in 2015.
• Controlled-atmosphere stunning - Sonic is challenging its poultry suppliers, all of which are U.S. farms, to convert to an animal welfare-friendly controlled atmosphere killing system (CAS), technology currently unavailable in the United States.
• Sow housing – Sonic supports the pork industry's moving away from the practice of confining sows in gestation crates to housing them in group pens. At least 8 percent of Sonic's pork products come from suppliers who no longer confine breeding hogs in gestation crates. The company's five-year target is to double that percentage, increasing an average of 1.5 percent annually and continue to increase that usage over time.

Sonic worked primarily with PETA to develop the new policy.

Other quick-service chains that have implemented policies to source or phase-in sourcing of cage-free eggs include Burger King, Carl's Jr., Hardee's and Wendy's. Also, in 2009, McDonald's announced that it was studying housing alternatives for laying hens.

Seven states have outlawed one or both forms of confinement, and California also enacted a law requiring that all whole eggs sold statewide be cage-free by 2015. Seven states have passed laws banning gestation crates, as has the entire European Union.

A study by food industry consultancy Technomic ranked animal welfare as the third most-important social issue to restaurant patrons, and an American Farm Bureau-funded report found that 89 percent of Americans believe that food companies that require their suppliers to treat farm animals better are doing the right thing.