PETA reaches deal with Hardee's and Carl Jr. (CKR)

Posted Sep 26th 2007 9:43AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Products and Services, Marketing and Advertising, CKE Restaurants (CKR)

While People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals attracts a lot of flack (not to mention a South Park episode) for its perceived "militancy", the organization should be commended for its latest coup.

According to the Associated Press, CKE Restaurants (NYSE: CKR) will begin purchasing eggs and pork from suppliers who do not keep their livestock in cages or crates. The concessions may seem relatively modest, but CKE is just the second chain to adopt these standards after Burger King (NYSE: BKC) made similar changes in March. The chain will:

Immediately begin purchasing 15 percent of its pork from suppliers that do not use metal "gestation crates" to confine sows, and increase that to 25 percent by 2009.

Purchase 2 percent of its eggs from suppliers whose hens are not kept in wire cages by July 2008.

Issue a statement to poultry suppliers stating it will "give consideration to approved suppliers who actively explore and test controlled-atmosphere stunning systems," which animal rights groups consider the most humane way to slaughter chickens.

These are hardly the kinds of changes that will have great PR value: "SWEEPSTAKES! ONE IN 50 EGGS COMES FROM A HEN THAT WAS NOT KEPT IN A WIRE CAGE!"

Hopefully more positive changes will come in the years ahead, but for now, we should give CKE credit for doing something.

See also: Cage-free eggs, are they really better?

Tags: Carl Jr's, CarlJr's, CKE, ckr, Hardee's, inthenews