Thomas Patterson Emerald
SueAnn James spreads her message of ethical boycott to motorists passing McDonald’s on Franklin Boulevard.
Braving cold weather and holding cardboard signs with phrases such as “Stop Factory Farming,” a group of about 15 protesters stood outside the Broadway McDonald’s restaurant off Franklin Boulevard on Saturday, demanding the restaurant improve how its animals are treated before they become Big Macs and McNuggets.
Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it does not support McDonald’s affiliation with factory farming, a process in which more animals are bred faster for food. SETA is a student group at the University advocating the humane treatment of all animals.
“Our main goal is to promote awareness. We know this will not shut down McDonald’s, but a lot of people do not know what factory farming is,” SETA director Sue-Ann James said. “This is meant to be a peaceful demonstration.”
Factory farming is intensive farming that does not practice the proper care for animals, but exploits them to make a profit, James said.
She said that factory farmers keep five to eight hens used to produce eggs in a cage the size of a folded newspaper. They give chickens to be used for meat hormones to induce rapid weight gain, causing their body mass to increase faster than their skeletal system.
Broiler chickens are hung upside down from hooks, and their throats are slit before being cooked.
“A lot of times, they do not slit their throats completely, and many of the chickens are boiled alive,” James said.
James said currently McDonald’s has an audit system that keeps track of how animals are treated from their arrival to the slaughterhouse, and they have also decreased purchases of eggs from suppliers that withhold food and water to increase egg production or that give chickens less than 72 square inches of space per bird.
“McDonald’s has made efforts, but we think that (it) could do more,” James said.
McDonald’s managers declined to comment about the protests. McDonald’s marketing spokespeople did not return calls immediately during the weekend.
According to McDonald’s Web site, the corporation has an Animal Welfare Council, which is an advisory board on the ethical treatment of animals. The board is composed of scholars and industry and animal protection experts, who provide McDonald’s with information and advice about animal
welfare issues.
“The best thing you can do to be a proponent for your cause is to educate and let the people decide for themselves what is right,” James said. “We want people to think before they eat.”
SETA would like McDonald’s to support farming practices that do not breed animals for weight or confine them to cages. Also, it would like farmers to stun chickens before slaughtering them to ensure a painless death, said James.
“I would mostly like to see McDonald’s change the way they are doing things.” SETA member Amber Hult said. “They, along with other fast food restaurants, should serve organic food.”
SETA chose to boycott McDonald’s rather than other fast food chains such as Burger King and Carl’s Jr. because it has the biggest market — not only nationwide, but also globally, James said.
SETA member Jeremy Chingell said he joined the protest because he believes McDonald’s has been stripping the earth of many of its natural resources. He said McDonald’s has supported destroying American forests for the construction of farming factories and pastures for cattle grazing.
“I just think that mostly McDonald’s is processed meat and has caused a lot of deforestation, and the company has also consumed a large amount of natural resources,” Chingell said.
E-mail reporter Danielle Gillespie
at [email protected].