Resolved clauseRESOLVED: Shareholders ask McDonald’s to publish measurable targets for switching to cage-free eggs worldwide and regularly report its progress meeting those targets. Thank you.
Supporting statementSUPPORTING STATEMENT: Dear fellow shareholders,
When Bob Langert first visited an industrial egg facility, he couldn’t wait to leave. The 30-year McDonald’s veteran and former company VP recalled the experience in his book:
“I went through the massive warehouse-type structure with aisles and aisles of cages that stretched beyond 100 yards with the cages stacked on top of each other to 20 feet high or more,” he described. “The laying hens were really squished, with no room to spread their wings. The stench was like a filthy bathroom that hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, with a strong ammonia smell. I couldn’t wait to get out.”
In 2015, McDonald’s addressed this issue in the U.S. and Canada, pledging to use 100% cage-free eggs there by 2025. Its announcement said this “reinforces the focus we place on food quality” and quoted Marion Gross (who later became EVP & Global Chief Supply Chain Officer) as calling it a “milestone” that would “improve the treatment of animals.”
In fact, McDonald’s has already reached 100% cage-free eggs domestically (two years early). It’s also achieved 85% in Canada and uses them in some other markets too.
But food quality and animal welfare are important worldwide.
In fact, cage confinement, specifically, faces increased regulation. Switzerland banned it back in 1992. And since then, the entire E.U. has limited it and bans or restrictions on it have been adopted in eleven U.S. states (see CageFreeLaws.com), the U.K., Norway, Bhutan, Austria, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Further, numerous McDonald’s competitors are making the switch to cage-free eggs globally.
For example, Restaurant Brands International (Burger King’s owner) is tracking to reach 39% worldwide by 2025 and 100% “by 2030 or earlier” and Yum! Brands (KFC’s owner) says it’ll also use 100% cage-free eggs globally by 2030. Starbucks, CKE Restaurants (Carl’s Jr. And Hardee’s) Cheesecake Factory, Darden, Bloomin’ Brands, Krispy Kreme, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Unilever, Nestle, Sodexo, Aramark, Shake Shack, and others have also made global pledges.
But not McDonald’s.
In additional to the substantial ethical implications, this is also a material issue, since animal welfare poses risks that could jeopardize the delivery of durable financial returns. In fact, as McDonald’s declared in its 2022 proxy statement, its very “ability to serve safe, quality food comes from animals that are cared for properly.”
Filed by The Accountability Board.