|
|
| There's a pre-McDonald's era and a post-McDonald's era. When I began working with [the company] on implementing animal welfare audits, there was huge, huge change. It was massive tipping point where the whole culture of the meat industry changed. |
Dr. Temple Grandin
Department of Animal Science
Colorado State University |
|
|
 |
| Read a blog entry by our Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility on the tenth anniversary of our relationship with Dr. Grandin. View a video retrospective, with a portion of his interview with her or listen to an audio of the whole conversation. |
|
McDonald's cares about the humane treatment of animals. We recognize that our responsibility as a purchaser of food products includes working with our suppliers to ensure good animal handling practices.
Our commitment to animal welfare is global and governed by McDonald's Animal Welfare Guiding Principles. Regardless of the practices used in different countries, we demand humane treatment of animals, and the Animal Welfare Guiding Principles apply universally. These principles and related implementation programs are part of our overall Socially Responsible Supply Initiative.
The principles were developed in consultation with an independent expert Animal Welfare Council. The Council continues to guide our efforts to exercise leadership in improving animal welfare.
|
|
| Meat Supplier Audit Program |
![]() |
McDonald’s has led the animal agricultural industry on animal welfare standards and audits at supplier meat processing facilities.
We have established a program of technical standards and comprehensive audit procedures to implement our standards in meat processing facilities. Our audits use objective measurements based on animal behavior research. Our goal is to audit all our beef, pork, and poultry suppliers annually.
Dr. Temple Grandin, a leader in innovative animal welfare research and animal handling practices, designed our audit system and remains involved in its implementation. She has reported significant improvements achieved by the audits.
We implemented Dr. Grandin’s objective audit system in the U.S. in 1999. We have since expanded it globally. All suppliers of beef, poultry and pork are audited annually. Since 2002, more than 2,600 audits have been conducted worldwide.
|
|
| Other Current Priorities |
![]() |
In keeping with our commitment to continuous improvement and our history of industry leadership, we are working with our suppliers and experts on several other major issues, including:
- Controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) for poultry
- Alternatives to gestation stalls for sows
- Housing and other practices related to laying hens
|
|
|
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly
