McDonald’s Will Transition To Using Only Cage-Free Eggs In U.S., Canadian Restaurants (Eventually)

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(PepOmint)

McDonald’s is hopping on the cage-free bandwagon, announcing today that it’s going to transition to sourcing only cage-free eggs for its U.S. and Canadian restaurants over the next decade.

In the announcement, the fast food chain cited consumers’ shifting attitudes toward the path their food takes to get to the plate.

“Our customers are increasingly interested in knowing more about their food and where it comes from,” McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres said in a press release on Wednesday. “Our decision to source only cage-free eggs reinforces the focus we place on food quality and our menu to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Marion Gross, chief supply chain officer of McDonald’s North America, added that the shift advances “environmentally and socially conscious practices for the animals in our supply chain.”

Currently, McDonald’s U.S. division buys about two billion eggs per year, and its Canadian business purchases around 120 million eggs. Those numbers could increase soon as well, as McDonald’s moves into its plan to offer all-day breakfast. Since 2011, about 10% of McDonald’s eggs in the U.S. have come from cage-free hens since 2011.

While McDonald’s is ahead of some others in the food industry to pledge to go cage-free, with Costco facing increasing pressure to set a deadline to do so, it also has some catching up to do with its rivals: Burger King promised back in 2012 to go cage-free with its eggs by 2017, a date that is fast approaching.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist