Burger King, the fast food restaurant chain, has committed to purchasing 10% of its pork from suppliers that do not use sow-gestation crates (which confine the sow to extremely tight quarters) and 2% of its eggs from hens not confined to cages. It expects both percentages to double by the end of 2007. (Wall Street Journal, print edition, Thursday, March 219, 2007, B4, reporting an Associated Press story about a letter received by PETA from BK.) (Also, here with Internet links.)
Some critics note that cage-free and free-range farming do not necessarily produce the highest quality animal welfare on the farm.
Yes it often comes down to a matter of scale. To supply the volume of meat, eggs or anything required by a major operation like Burger King, the 'farm' has to be big and that often involves cutting corners wherever possible.
A traditional family farm is unlikely to meet production requirements to supply big retailers.
Have a look at our website: www.freeranger.com.au and my blog at
http://freerangereggs.blogspot.com
Posted by: Phil Westwood | March 29, 2007 at 06:35 PM