Its A Cole World: The Truth About McDonald's Egg McMuffins! (McDonald's Drops Egg Supplier After This Cruelty)

" McDonald's and Target dropped one of the
nation's largest egg suppliers after an animal
rights group released an undercover video of the
egg producer's farms in three states.

McDonald's Corp. said Friday it had dropped
Sparboe Farms as a supplier after a video by the
group Mercy for Animals showed cases of animal
cruelty at five facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and
Colorado. Target Corp. soon followed, saying it
would pull eggs from the Litchfield, Minn.-based
company off its shelves.

"Having been made aware of the unacceptable
conditions in the company's egg laying facilities,
effective immediately, Target will discontinue its
business relationship with Sparboe Farms,"
Minneapolis-based Target said in a statement late
Friday.

Sparboe produces 300 million eggs a year, in
regular, liquid, frozen and dried form, and ships
them to restaurants and stores across the country.
The company's Vincent, Iowa, plant had billed
itself as the sole fresh egg supplier to every
McDonald's west of the Mississippi River.

McDonald's officials say Sparboe was a
"significant" supplier and that it was unclear
when, or if, the company would work with the
Golden Arches again. Sparboe's Iowa facility
produced 2 million eggs a day, seven days a week.

That changed Friday when images shot by Mercy for
Animals showed a worker swinging a bird around by
its feet, hens packed into cramped cages, male
chicks being tossed into plastic bags to suffocate
and workers cutting off the tips of chicks' beaks.

"The behavior on tape is disturbing and completely
unacceptable. McDonald's wants to assure our
customers that we demand humane treatment of
animals by our suppliers," Bob Langert, McDonald's
vice president for sustainability, said in a
statement.

The nation's largest retailer — Bentonville, Ark.-
based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — also bought Sparboe
eggs and has been demanding that suppliers treat
their chickens humanely for years. Wal-Mart said
it stopped working with Sparboe six weeks ago and
that its decision had "nothing to do with animal
welfare concerns," said Dianna Gee, a Wal-Mart
spokeswoman. She declined to discuss why Sparboe
was dropped.

McDonald's and other fast-food chains and grocery
stores have been studying how chickens are caged
and cared for in its egg farms. The Humane Society
has persuaded several national food outlets,
including Burger King, Costco Wholesale, Denny's
and Wendy's/Arby's Group, to buy at least some of
their eggs from producers that allow hens to roam.

McDonald's and Target's moves also followed a
warning letter to Sparboe Farms dated Wednesday
from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that
said inspectors found "serious violations" at five
Sparboe facilities of federal regulations meant to
prevent salmonella. The warning said eggs from
those facilities "have been prepared, packed, or
held under insanitary conditions whereby they may
have become contaminated with filth, or whereby
they may have been rendered injurious to health."

McDonald's eggs were safe because they were cooked
thoroughly, and none of its operations will be
affected by Sparboe, company spokeswoman Lisa
McComb said Saturday. About 27 million Americans
eat at McDonald's each day.

Sparboe Companies LLC said Saturday it would
create a task force to review the company's food
safety and animal care." - AP