Vegetarian Star

Although McDonald’s in Europe has committed to going cage-free for its eggs by the end of 2012, U.S. McDonald’s show no signs of letting the birds out the wire, citing rising prices for consumers for the more humane and better quality product as the reason.

However, as Wallet Pop points out, with the average cost of a dozen cage-free eggs being only sixty cents more, this would translate to an extra nickel to customers.

According to a poll on WP’s website, over half of people are willing to pay more for cage-free eggs, with 22% willing to pay $0.05, 21% willing to pay $0.25 and 7% willing to pay $1.00.

Of course, we’re not getting into the debate of raising the Canadian bacon pig more ethically (or better yet, doing away with the bacon altogether).

That too should be the next step in making the Egg McMuffin more humane, and keeping up and maybe even getting ahead of our European fast food loving  brothers and sisters.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Jon Stewart and Wife Tracey Stewart Adopt Horse
• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Elephants Retire To Sanctuary
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills

Temple Grandin, scientist who made contributions to the livestock industry praised by those in the business and animal rights activists, says dairy and egg farms need to step up their level of care for the animals.

The subject of a recent HBO movie chronicling her life, Grandin said farmers have gotten used to keeping animals and the conditions they’re kept in unhealthy.

At an organic food industry conference, Grandin said, according to the Des Moines Register. “The bad has become normal.”

Grandin said battery cages used to house hens aren’t large enough to allow the birds to continue their normal behavior, such as scratching, nesting and perching.

But she is concerned that too many regulations will cause farmers to take their business to other countries to save money, thus causing Americans to lose their jobs.

She’s also worried about low-income people being able to afford the price of the cage-free eggs.

One suggestion Grandin has is to use larger cage systems that Europe already has, which allows the birds to do normal behaviors.

Could America be on its way to adopting a similar practice?

Lee Kilmer, a dairy extension specialist at Iowa State University said, “California is five years ahead of the Midwest, and the European Union is five years ahead of California. I’m hoping we can get producers in the Midwest to deal with some of these practices that deal with animal welfare before we have legislation requiring it.”

Possibly Related Posts:

• Jon Stewart and Wife Tracey Stewart Adopt Horse
• Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Elephants Retire To Sanctuary
• SeaWorld Phasing Out Whale Breeding Program
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Morrissey Adds Vegan Touch To First In-Person Interview In Decade On “Larry King Now” (Video)

Mariel Hemingway was recently out promoting her latest book, Mariel’s Kitchen — Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life, which contains several vegetarian friendly recipes.

A few years ago in 2003, Mariel created Blisscuits, a healthier cookie filled with omega-3 fatty acids and free of refined sugar, hydrogenated oil and gluten.

In addition, Blisscuits use egg whites sourced from suppliers that use cage free hens.

Blisscuits were created for her ex-husband after he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma.

“(So, I told him) Give me a couple months, let’s work on this together, your food,” Mariel told the Bothell Reporter.

“And he had to change the way he lived his life, so he had to start eating differently and looking at his life differently — so it was food, it was exercise, it was learning how to meditate, it was having a different perspective.”

Mariel’s ex-husband has been cancer free for 11 years.

The granddaughter of the famous writer Ernest is into seasonal foods and her current favorite food of the season is the artichoke.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

Subway restaurants in the U.S. will begin phasing in cage-free eggs, a practice already adopted by its UK franchises.

As part of its new animal welfare policy, Subway will first ensure that 4% of the eggs used in its breakfast menus are sourced from cage-free suppliers, with the goal of eventually having 100% of eggs obtained from hens that are not confined in battery cages.

“Subway’s new animal welfare policy will help improve conditions for animals within its supply chain and throughout the nation,” stated Matthew Prescott, corporate outreach director for The Humane Society of the United States’ factory farming campaign. “The Humane Society of the United States applauds Subway for beginning to phase out its use of eggs from hens confined in cages.

Subway has also taken steps to use meat obtained from more humane methods, and more than 5% of its turkey comes from suppliers that used controlled atmosphere killing, a process said to reduce suffering of slaughtered birds.

Subway is part of a group of fast food franchises pledging to make similar changes related to animal welfare, including Denny’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and IHOP.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Ben And Jerry’s Launch Vegan Ice Cream
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Moby Opens Little Pine Vegan Restaurant
• White Castle Goes Vegan
• IKEA Unveils Its Vegetarian Meatball Option

But is Minnie Mouse cage-free?

Disney has come up with its own brand of eggs. All your favorite cartoons from classic Mickey to Cars characters that will ultimately be indiscernible once crushed against the side of the stove top before frying appear on the eggs that are hormone and anti-biotic free.

Good to know at least Disney is using products from chickens who weren’t on steroids, but it’s not sure whether they’re from cage free animals. Or if the dyes contain any animal derivatives.

Hopefully, they were free-range and went on all the magic carpet rides with Aladdin they desired.

The cute marketing idea that probably comes with an extra price tag Ebeneezer Scrooge wouldn’t be interested in will have children dragging their parents to the dairy section of the grocery store, so let’s hope Minnie’s products are as egg-thical as they possibly can be.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro