ICAHN NOT ‘LOVIN’ IT’: This is where McDonald’s gets its meat
McDonald's is misleading the public about the company's animal welfare policies. Specifically at issue is the use of gestation crates which are very small stalls where pregnant sows are held and their movements highly restricted in the company's pork supply chain.
ALAN KRAWITZ: By all accounts, McDonald’s is the most-popular burger business in the country… So how does it get from the farm to the drive-thru?… Information supplied by McDonald’s USA says that the company “partners with a global network of suppliers and farmers to provide quality ingredients and packaging materials”…
Asked generally about the quality of its meat, McDonald’s USA says “Our burgers are made only with 100% USDA inspected beef… However, the burger giant has recently come under fire for its animal welfare policies by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has championed similar animal welfare causes in the past.
CNN reported just days ago that Icahn sent a scorching letter to investors saying that McDonald’s is “failing” investors and misleading the public about the company’s animal welfare policies related to how its pork supply is sourced. Specifically at issue is the use of “gestation” crates which are very small stalls where pregnant sows are held and their movements highly restricted in the company’s pork supply chain.
McDonald’s had promised in February of this year to completely phase out the use of the crates by 2024, according to CNN. But Icahn said that the company’s claim that most of its U.S. pork doesn’t come from sows housed in gestation crates was a “cynical fabrication.”
In response, McDonald’s told CNN, “While the company looks forward to promoting further collaboration across the industry on this issue, the current pork supply in the US would make this type of commitment impossible,” adding that Icahn’s demands to eliminate the use of crates would significantly increase costs, “placing a burden on all aspects of our business, our supply chain and McDonald’s customers.”
Further, the company said that its inability to meet previously stated animal welfare targets was a result of challenges from the pandemic as well as a “devasting swine fever.” Icahn called these “poor excuses”…
When it comes to the use of antibiotics in its meat supply, McDonald’s says it’s trying to limit the use. Most fast-food chains try to avoid or reduce the use of meat raised with antibiotics since they’ve been recognized as contributing to the development of antibiotic-resistant viruses…
Unfortunately for the Golden Arches, consumer groups are a bit more critical when it comes to efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics in the chain’s meat supply. The most recent Chain Reaction report, a coalition of consumer groups including Consumer Reports and The Center for Food Safety that annually review and grade fast-food restaurant chains on policies regarding antibiotic use in meats, gave McDonald’s—along with Wendy’s and Subway–a low grade regarding antibiotic use in their beef supplies.
The report noted that “Subway and McDonald’s earned ‘C’ grades for adopting responsible antibiotic use policies but neither has begun implementing them.” In addition, McDonald’s was singled out for “…. failing to honor its commitment to set antibiotic reduction targets in its beef supply by the end of 2020. McDonald’s rivals Burger King and Arby’s both were given “F” grades, “for taking no public action to reduce antibiotic overuse in their beef supplies”. SOURCE…
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