MIAMI Burger King has agreed to start using pork from animals raised outside of crates and eggs from uncaged hens, according to two animal-welfare groups that had been pressuring the chain. An official of franchisor Burger King Holdings Inc. told The New York Times that the new contracts are still being negotiated, but the report indicated that the chain does not plan to raise its prices as a result of the policy change.
Initially, the advocacy groups said, 10 percent of the pork used in Burger King's U.S. restaurants will come from more humanely raised pork, with the percentage rising to 20 percent by the end of the year. The chain initially will buy 2 percent of its eggs from cage-free facilities and increase the tally to 5 percent by January, according to The Humane Society of the United States.
The other group that said it had met with BK was the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.
According to the groups, BK also agreed to alert poultry suppliers that the chain would give preference to vendors who stunned their chickens with gas rather than electric shocks prior to slaughter. The so-called controlled-atmospheric killing technique is regarded as being more humane.
BK is the second big-name restaurant operation in the last week to agree to promote humane farming techniques. Last week, Los Angeles chef Wolfgang Puck agreed to switch exclusively within all of his restaurants and feeding venues to animals that had been humanely cultivated. He also pledged to use only sustainable seafood and organic or natural ingredients.
The Humane Society hailed BK's pledge as "historic."
"With its new policy changes, Burger King is signaling to aribusiness that the most inhumane factory farming practices are on the way out," Society president Wayne Pacelle is quoted as saying in an announcement.
PETA simultaneously released its statement praising BK. Vice president Bruce Friedrich is quoted as saying that the move "will send a shockwave through the meat and egg industries."
No statement was released by Burger King to the news wires. But Steve Grover, BK's vice president of food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance, told the Times that the chain is still negotiating new prices for its pork and eggs, though it expects to pay more.
Three supermarkets that specialize in naturally raised foods, Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats Natural Marketplace and Trader Joe's, also have phased out eggs from caged hens or are in the process of doing so, HSUS said.
Measures approved via ballot initiatives mandate an end to the commercial cultivation of pigs in crates by 2008 in Florida and 2013 in Arizona.
Will Burger King's change to humanely cultivated pork and eggs prompt other chains to follow suit?Give us your opinion.
