The Difference Essay

Submitted By xRectified
Words: 913
Pages: 4

In-N-Out, McDonald’s Corp., Jack in the Box, Burger King and other chains quickly cut ties with Central Valley Meat Co. this week after undercover footage from an animal welfare group showed cows at the California slaughterhouse seemingly tortured and otherwise mistreated.

McDonald’s said the percentage of its meat that came from the Central Valley slaughterhouse was in “the low single digits.”

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The chain continued, saying it “cares about how our food is sourced and we have a long history of action and commitment to improve the welfare of animals in our supply chain.”

Major food chains are now more eager than ever to abandon suppliers deemed to be cruel to animals. Denny’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and more have pledged this year to wean themselves of pork raised in cramped gestation crates and eggs laid by chickens crowded in cages.

[Updated, 10:30 a.m. Aug. 23: Jack in the Box said its restaurants did not use any beef from Central Valley Meat produced during the alleged violations, according to spokesman Brian Luscomb. But the slaughterhouse was an approved supplier to one of the burger chain’s vendors.

“We have suspended Central Valley Meat Co. from our approved vendor list,” Luscomb said. “The decision is not expected to impact our beef supply.”]

[Updated, 11:50 a.m. Aug. 23: The slaughterhouse was also an indirect supplier to Burger King Corp., according to a statement from Diego Beamonte, vice president of global quality for the chain.

“BKC took immediate action and removed Central Valley Meat Co. from its list of approved raw-material suppliers,” he said. “BKC no longer directly or indirectly purchases any raw materials from the company.”]

Earlier this week, In-N-Out dumped the Central Valley slaughterhouse, saying it “would never condone the inhumane treatment of animals.”

PHOTOS: Fast food gets outrageous

The larger focus on creature comfort may be due to the rise in gruesome images and video of mistreatment, often distributed over ever-widening social medial networks. This week’s footage from advocacy group Compassion Over Killing features cows being electrically shocked, sprayed with hot water or shot in the head and then suffocated by workers standing on their faces.

“No company wants their brand associated with the type of horrible abuse we see regularly documented in the whistle-blowing exposes we continue to see coming out of factory farms and slaughter plants,” said Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society of the United States.

But corporate America’s growing aversion to suppliers outed as animal abusers has other sources as well. Consumers are more interested in the provenance of their food – and increasingly prefer meat with a local, organic and humane pedigree.

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