This Sunday, 235 activists demonstrated at a McDonald’s in LA, calling on the company to ban the cruelest practices in
its chicken supply chain. The demonstration drew on the collection of activists
in town for the annual Animal Rights National Conference, and what an impression they made. Numerous drivers honked
horns in solidarity, and passersby took pictures of the impressive event, many
of which can be found under the hashtag #ImNotLovinIt.
A coalition of various
vegan animal rights groups that include Mercy For Animals, Animal Equality, The
Humane League, and Compassion Over Killing organized the protest. Compassion in
World Farming and World Animal Protection are also calling on McDonald’s to
take action.
In
late 2017, McDonald’s issued a public relations statement outlining a vague
eight-point plan to end the rampant animal cruelty in its chicken supply chain.
But the statement fell far short of addressing the
most pressing animal cruelty
concerns. Suppliers, for example, raise
chickens to grow so large that the birds often can’t walk without pain. In
fact, according to
University of Arkansas researchers, if humans grew at a rate similar to that of
commercially bred chickens, a six-pound newborn
would weigh 660 pounds after
just two months. And the birds live crammed
together in dark, windowless sheds where the air is so thick with ammonia that even breathing can cause lung
failure. Many die on the factory farm floor.
Over 200,000 consumers have signed a petition calling on
McDonald’s to ban these practices. If you haven’t yet, you can do the same here.
Fast-food
competitors, such as Burger King, Subway, and Starbucks, and over 80 other
brands have already pledged to ban these practices—and we’re simply calling on
McDonald’s to do the same. A recent survey found that four out of five
Americans agreed that these horrific abuses should be banned, and yet this
fast-food giant has refused to make a meaningful commitment, putting profit
over common decency.
If you weren’t at the
protest but would like to help, you can
take action by going to McDonaldsCruelty.com. Or you can sign up to be a Hen Hero and get alerts for easy actions you can take, such as
emails or tweets you can send out to put the pressure on this fast-food bully.
And
remember, the best way to help stop this needless suffering is to quit eating
animals altogether. For helpful tips on leaving chickens and other animals off
your plate, please visit ChooseVeg.com.