Written by PETA
PETA's newest campaign strategy against McCruelty appears to be working. We have been making unscheduled appearances at the speaking engagements of McDonald's executives in order to hold them accountable for their archaic and cruel chicken slaughter methods. When we recently interrupted McDonald's director of U.S. communications at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, she said on camera that she'd be willing to discuss our concerns in a sit-down meeting.
We are asking McDonald's to institute a less-cruel slaughter method for chickens raised for the restaurant called "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK), which is already in use by their European suppliers. Currently, chickens raised for McDonald's in the U.S. and Canada are dumped out of their transport crates and hung upside down in metal shackles. They watch other chickens have their throats cut while they wait for their turn before being scalded to death in defeathering tanks.
We hope that McDonald's will follow through and agree to talk with PETA about instituting CAK. In the meantime, please take a moment to tell McDonald's that you support less cruel methods of chicken slaughter, and sport your McCruelty gear with pride.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
PETA asked for your help in picking the naughtiest person of 2010, and boy, did you guys come through—to the tune of more than 2.7 million lumps of coal! And the "winner" is … Ronald McDonald. The cruel clown got a run for his (blood) money from the CEO of SeaWorld, but in the end, it was no contest.
Well, what else would you expect when you're the embodiment of a company that refuses to adopt a less cruel method of chicken slaughter, instead clinging stubbornly to antiquated practices that result in the abuse of countless chickens, who suffer broken bones, cut throats, hemorrhaging, and immersion in scalding-hot water—all while they're still conscious?
Now that we know he's the worst offender of the year, let's persuade Ronald to make a New Year's resolution to be kinder to animals in 2011! To tell McDonald's, "I'm hatin' it," just go here.
Written by Jeff Mackey
When I read that Joan Jett jumped on a car hood to join PETA's protest outside the Waldorf Astoria, where McDonald's Jim Skinner was to receive a "Distinguished CEO" award (?!) last night, I started applauding.
Sure, Jim Skinner is "distinguished"—from anyone with an ounce of compassion and a kernel of common sense, that is. Why else would McDonald's continue to refuse to mandate that its American and Canadian suppliers implement controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK) in order to dramatically reduce the cruelty that they inflict on billions of animals? Chicken slaughterhouses in the U.S. have started to implement CAK, and some restaurant chains (including Quiznos, Subway, Starbucks, and Ruby Tuesday) and grocery chains (including Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Winn-Dixie) already purchase turkeys killed by CAK.
Know this: As long as Skinner and other execs at McDonald's thumb their noses at compassion, we'll continue to finger their shameful ways. Care to give us a hand?
Written by Karin Bennett
OK, we don't have the powers of The Shadow to let us know what evil lurks in the heart of Ronald McDonald, but some recent stories shed some light on who McDonald's might be hatin'.
1. Its Employees
The manager of a McDonald's in Brazil had to take the company to court to win compensation after gaining 65 pounds from having to sample the restaurant's food for a dozen years.
2. African-Americans
Another lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, alleges that three black men were told that they couldn't use the restrooms in a Kips Bay McDonald's unless they made a purchase, while a white woman was allowed to use the facilities without having to buy anything.
3. Animals (Especially Chickens)
Now that two U.S. chicken suppliers have begun implementing a less cruel method of slaughter called controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), McDonald's has run out of excuses for continuing to subject birds to violence and injuries. Please add your voice today to those calling on McDonald's to require its suppliers to use CAK to spare chickens from unnecessary suffering.
Singapore artist Nafe Nanfeng created these moving images and forwarded them to PETA after reading that two slaughterhouses in the U.S. are implementing a slaughter method called "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK), which will greatly reduce the suffering of countless birds who are killed to become drumsticks.
The sky's the limit when it comes to ways to get the word out. You can use art, fashion, correspondence, leaflets, or just about anything else you can think of—that list could stretch from Dallas to Denver. No matter what methods you use, please always—and often—create opportunities to inspire people to choose compassion over killing.
Yes, we wish everyone would just go vegan and be done with it, but we ain't there yet. It's a process (and you know that it's gathering steam if you heard Bill Clinton describing his own dietary decisions on CNN: "No chicken!"). So while we sling vegan starter kits at people as if there were no tomorrow, we also work hard to reduce the suffering of the billions of chickens—for whom there truly is no tomorrow—who are born into a world where people still salivate over birds' limbs. That's why we are very pleased to announce that after more than a year of behind-the-scenes work with PETA, two chicken producers, Pennsylvania-based Bell & Evans and California-based Mary's Chickens, have begun the process of implementing a new slaughter system called "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK). These will be the first slaughterhouses in the U.S. to make the switch. This new system is a huge improvement over the cruel systems that are used today.
Here's what happens to chickens in the U.S. now: They are dumped out of their transport crates, violently shackled upside down (a procedure that often results in broken wings and legs), and run through an electrical bath that paralyzes them but leaves them conscious. In addition, millions of them are scalded to death in defeathering tanks. CAK eliminates all these abuses. That's because it removes the oxygen from the chickens' environment and slowly replaces it with a nonpoisonous gas that puts the birds to sleep while they are still in their transport crates. This system also removes any opportunity for workers to engage in the kind of abuse that PETA has uncovered during multiple undercover investigations.
A number of restaurant chains (including Quiznos, Subway, Starbucks, and Ruby Tuesday) and grocery chains (including Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Winn-Dixie) are already purchasing turkeys killed by CAK. Now, for the first time, thanks to Bell & Evans and Mary's Chickens, restaurants and grocery stores will also be able to purchase chickens killed by CAK.
We believe that it's just a matter of time before others producers follow suit. In Europe, CAK is already widely used and is gaining in popularity, and we think that these decisions by Bell & Evans and Mary's Chickens mark the beginning of an industrywide change that will prevent billions of chickens in the U.S. from enduring terrible pain and suffering. If you were a chicken dreaming of a vegan world and headed for the knife, which system would you vote for?
KFC and McDonald's, are you listening?
Written by Alisa Mullins
When graffiti king Banksy's "coyote" took on Colonel Sanders, we interpreted the work to be pro-chicken. But there's no question that artist Wayne Coyne, lead singer for The Flaming Lips, is speaking out against cruelty to birds with his new work. He assured fans that the blood used in the creation of a new poster was his own, stating, "We thought it would be silly to use some chicken blood or something like that. They don't need to sacrifice their vital fluids any more than I need to, so I thought, 'Well, let's just do it. We'll be the experiment.'"
The Flaming Lips have previously signed PETA's petition calling on KFC to eliminate some of the worst abuses endured by birds killed for its buckets. We like it when people speak up for chickens. Do you?
Dozens of celebrities, including Oscar-winner Anjelica Huston, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Iggy Pop, and comedic improv genius Fred Willard—all of whom were in attendance at PETA's 30th Anniversary Gala—signed our petition calling on McDonald's to reduce cruelty to chickens. Check it out.
All these celebrities join countless caring folks who've taken action against the atrocious treatment of birds on the factory farms that supply McCruelty. Chickens deserve a break—not broken wings or death by scalding. So they need you to be a shining star for them too.
Note to bigwigs at animal-abusing companies: Don't offer to answer questions unless you're prepared to sit in the hot seat! When PETA learned that McDonald's vice president Bob Langert is taking questions from stakeholders—people who are affected by McDonald's actions—on McDonald's "corporate responsibility" blog, PETA Senior V.P. Dan Mathews sent in this query, which is sure to make Langert squirm:
Chickens who are killed by McDonald's suppliers have their throats cut while they are still conscious, and many suffer broken limbs or are scalded to death in defeathering tanks. As the leading U.S. purchaser of chicken meat, your company has the ability and the market power to end these abuses. When will McDonald's become a leader in animal welfare by requiring your U.S. suppliers to switch to a less cruel slaughter method that's approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is already used by McDonald's suppliers in Europe?
After all, who is more affected by McDonald's actions than the nearly 300 million chickens who are slaughtered for the chain each year? It's unlikely that Langert will respond, even though PETA is not only a stakeholder but also a company shareholder.
You can give McCruelty an earful about its abusive methods by leaving a stakeholder comment of your own or by urging the company to adopt that less cruel slaughter method, which is called "controlled-atmosphere killing."
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
After finding out that a McDonald's restaurant in his hometown of Liverpool had plastered the walls with photos of him and the rest of the Fab Four, Sir Paul McCartney—who is known by all (except maybe the marooned fighter pilot on Gilligan's Island) as being a longtime and outspoken vegetarian—was less than glad all over.
Refusing to let it be, McCartney urged his fans to boycott the fast-food behemoth. Surprisingly, the notoriously tone-deaf purveyor of patties seems to have gotten the message, and the photos have reportedly gotten back to where they once belonged.
Maybe next McDonald's will agree to make improvements in the way chickens are killed for its restaurants. I'm sure Sir Paul wouldn't object to Meat-Free Mondays at McDonald's, either—or better yet, meatless meals eight days a week.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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