The people at America’s #2 fast food restaurant Burger King have announced that they will begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers who do not cage their animals. Burger King currently purchases 10% of its pork from cage-free suppliers and vows to double this percentage by the end of the year. For those concerned about Burger King altering the Whopper or any of their beef products, have no fear, the hamburgers will still be “flame-broiled” and will still have those silly lines on the patty to illustrate that they are “flame-broiled.” Also, Burger King announced that 2% of its eggs, like the ones used on those delicious Croissan’wiches, will be supplied from hens who have not been caged. And the icing on the cake: Burger King will favor suppliers that use gas or “controlled-atmospheric stunning” rather than electric shock to knock the birds out before slaughter. The move comes after 6 years of dialogue with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals regarding Burger King’s treatment of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. In 2001, PETA launched its “Murder King” campaign which aimed to expose Burger King’s unethical treatment of animals. In a press release issued by PETA on Wednesday, the animal rights group said that BK’s new plan “places it at the forefront of the fast-food industry with regard to animal welfare.” Really? PETA’s getting kind of soft I think. Isn’t this the group that used to throw animal carcasses at old rich ladies wearing fur coats at the opera? PETA should be concerned with the slaughtering of the animals, not how the animals are treated before they’re slaughtered. And we, the American consumers, should not be expected to make any consumption decisions based on these empty policies. Do you think an American truck driver who is going to eat a double Whopper with cheese, add bacon, will care at all whether or not the bacon came from a caged pig or an uncaged pig? People that care about these issues are not people that eat at Burger King to begin with. Who cares whether the pig was gassed or shocked or bitch-slapped before it gets slaughtered? The slaughtering part is the mean part. So the next time your buddy nudges you in the car and asks “McDonalds or Burger King,” and believe me this can be tough sometimes, just ask yourself whether you want a McDonalds burger that’s fried and is made to taste “their way” or a flame-broiled burger made to taste more like a backyard barbecue that you can have your way, right away.
•AP: Burger King Going Cage Free
•Burger King Ad: Talking to Self (1986)