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Business

McDonald’s changes slaughter guidelines, launches ‘McVegan’

By
Leah Bitsky
Published Oct. 30, 2017
Updated Oct. 30, 2017, 10:27 p.m. ET

McDonald’s is making changes to its menu and animal lovers are “Lovin’ It.”

In another major effort towards animal welfare, McDonald’s will sell humanely raised and slaughtered chickens by 2024, Newsweek reports.

The fast food chain’s new guidelines will require all chicken suppliers to give all birds access to perches and clean coops and be put to rest by peaceful suffocation, a process called “stunning” as opposed to live slaughter, the LA Times reported.

“We believe these new commitments provide the ability to drive and measure continuous improvement for the health and welfare of chickens,” Bruce Feinberg, a senior director at McDonald’s who oversees chicken, beef, pork, fish and dairy products, wrote on Medium on Friday.

Although the new standards will most-likely increase operating costs, McDonald’s will not be raising its prices for customers.

“While this might not be a direct impact on sales at McDonald‘s, it might help certain segments of our customer base make purchasing decisions that they might not have otherwise made,” Feinberg told Reuters.

Animal activists have commended McDonald’s for taking steps in the right direction, but say there is much more to be done.

“The giant fast-food retailer – a leader in phasing out gestation crates for pigs and cages for laying hens – sidestepped the other critical elements of a comprehensive chicken welfare program,” The Humane Society’s CEO, Wayne Pacelle wrote on his blog. “It failed to act on the most severe problem within its poultry supply chain, allowing its suppliers to use breeds of chickens that have chronic health problems; the birds are extremely obese and grow so rapidly that some of them have a hard time standing or walking.”

Micky D’s latest decision comes on the heels of the company’s introduction of a vegan sandwich option, which launched this month in Finland on a trial basis until mid-November, Fortune reported. 

The vegan-friendly sandwich, dubbed the McVegan, is a meatless burger completely made of soy that comes with the same topping options as the beloved Big Mac.