Celebrities Scold McDonald's: Ryan Gosling, Zooey Deschanel, Alicia Silverstone Say, 'I'm Hating It'

In November, after an undercover video aired depicting mistreatment of egg-laying hens at Sparboe Farms, a McDonald's supplier, McDonald's swiftly dropped the company. Target soon followed suit, and Sparboe Farms put out a video explaining that what the investigation discovered was "completely at odds with our animal welfare policies."

Though McDonald's took fast action to remove Sparboe as a supplier, to some celebrities, this move was not enough. In a letter [pdf] to Jim Skinner, the CEO of McDonald's, ten celebrities including Ryan Gosling, Zooey Deschanel and Alicia Silverstone encourage McDonald's to buy 100% cage-free eggs, which the company already does in Europe.

The letter reads in part:

While McDonald's has already established a 100% cage-free purchasing policy in Europe, your U.S. restaurants continue to support egg factory farms that confine hens for most of their lives in cages so small they can’t even spread their wings.nearly anything that comes naturally to them. Common sense tells us that animals with legs and wings should be given the basic freedom to move.

Sadly, there is not a single federal law to protect hens from cruelty from the time they hatch to the time they are killed. While McDonald's brags about the "billions and billions served," millions of hens exploited for your restaurants are being grossly underserved. In fact, these animals are being abused in ways that would land your egg suppliers in jail, if dogs or cats were the victims.

The full list of the letter's signers are: Ryan Gosling, Emily Deschanel, Alicia Silverstone, Kristen Bauer, Bryan Adams, Zooey Deschanel, Wendie Malick, Maria Menounos, Steve-O, and Ed Begley Jr. To read the full letter, check out McDonaldsCruelty.com/letter.

Watch the November undercover video of Sparboe Farms:

Comments

[Barb Winslow]

07:50 PM on 02/24/2012

Good for them!! My entire family (three generations) refuse to patronize McDonalds. It's nice to know there are stars who are willing to take a stand.

[frankath]

03:58 PM on 12/30/2011

Oh, the poor chickens. NOW consider how many people have LOST THEIR JOBS, because when this became public, Sparboe started going under. Do we CARE about the people involved - or just the animals? Do city people even UNDERSTAND farming at all? How chickens react NORMALLY - they are not exactly the cute little chickies one sees in the pet shops. I've seen the homes of "free range" poultry and if you think they are cleaner and that "being free" cured them of some natural nasty chicken habits, I have a moldy loaf of bread that I found at a local farmers marker to sell you! I agree, food safety and cleanliness at food production sites should be a major concern, but - to ruin a company and the lives of all those people who are employed there, AND their families, AND the shops that serve those people AND on down the line, is a tragedy. I'm sorry, I have more concern for the people than the chickens. If you don't want to eat meat or eggs or any kind of food, simply do not do so. Don't run sting operations that show the few times a company screws up as opposed to all the time, money and effort they put toward getting it right, then get some citified celebs to sing your praises. Are those celebrities gonna help to find these people new jobs? Nah - they'll leave THAT to the chickens, too.

[Patriot Games]

12:55 PM on 01/02/2012

Since when do you care about whether aliens have jobs or not? Not that I know anything about Sparboe. But living in a state where agriculture is prevalent it's easy to make that assumption. Farming is hard work, too hard for white folks. I know cause I are one.

[Oneandoneandone]

07:11 PM on 01/03/2012

Do you really have to care about one OR the other? Where is your heart?

[frankath]

11:15 AM on 01/04/2012

My heart is with the humans! Not anthropomorphic chickens, for Pete's sake. Most companies go to great lengths to keep their facilities clean and safe, for the good of all involved - yes, even the chickens. But humans will be humans and make mistakes, even WITH all the safegurads that are in place. AND chickens will be chickens and use normal chikcen behavior - it often AIN'T pretty. Should an entire company be gutted, along with all those employees livlihoods, over this? C'mon!

[rewith85man]

09:31 PM on 12/25/2011

I have said the same thing for years.

Ever since I bought a chicken biscuit from McDonald's and had a terrible stomachache, I stopped going there regularly. But, I would still go to buy French fries and that is it.

[PanFx]

04:58 PM on 12/22/2011

McDonald's -- serving the best chicken-bone scrapings in the world! Only $4.99 for 20 "pieces!"

[NanoViking]

12:21 PM on 12/22/2011

CEOs, COOs, GMs, AGMs, RMs, MRs, and even Peons all play the corporate spin game in which they collectively create a 'too big to care' culture. So long as their value of the dollar is limited (tied) to fiscal data rather than its inherent human and animal derivatives such monstrosities will continue to wreak havoc on our landscape. F- green washing and all that cr-p. Proactively doing something about the impact of business on real people, the environment and animals pays dividends that institutions of higher learning have yet to effectively teach, or so it seems..

[skygreys]

10:57 AM on 12/22/2011

Realize when you dis a whole company your dissing my job, what pays my bills, sure companies could do more, but what are these celebrities doing, are they just making this clear or are they actually doing somehing about it and until they do I have to work and will probably eat McD's everyday I go into work. Enjoy your day, I'm Loving it!!!

[Rebecca Nixon]

07:09 AM on 12/22/2011

Apart from your own backyard, there is virtually no such thing as "cruelty-free" eggs. It is better to buy egg replacements for baking and lean to enjoy foods that are kind to our fluffy and furry neighbours!

[Oneandoneandone]

07:13 PM on 01/03/2012

More and more people are taking to raising chickens for eggs (in their backyards) for this very reason.

[mikeam91]

06:21 PM on 12/21/2011

Poor hens, the treatment they endure is disgusting! Who are the people that can look at an animal and then abuse them in such a way. I know hell will be awaiting those people! I'm glad these clebs got the issue out there becuase look... now we are all taking note and hopefully something will be done. McDonald's boycott anyone?.... I think yes and for all those people who say they can't afford anything else... PUHHHLEASE! Go to subway and get a 5 dollar foot long it will make a point about animal abuse and juding that you eat at McDonald's in the first place, probably take some lbs off your lard a*s. So in the end we can stop animal abuse and reduce the disgustingly rapid American obesity problem. We could kill two birds with one stone (pun not intended haha).

[The Breather]

04:33 PM on 12/21/2011

Are we supposed to care what vegan "celebrities", or any celebrities for that matter, think? These people didn't eat McDonald's anyway. I'll keep going there my normal 1-2X per month.

[flowereater]

07:22 PM on 12/21/2011

I don't really care what any celebrity says unless it is documented and I can learn from it. It is up to you if you choose to ignore animal cruelty, which is a huge problem in our culture.

[The Breather]

11:43 PM on 12/23/2011

Vegans have had it in for McDonald's for a long time. I don't take their criticisms seriously until corroborated by another reliable group. And that's not PETA.

[meganmarieborn]

11:24 AM on 12/24/2011

What do you documented? Celebrities are just people. They don't suddenly obtain a college diploma and become credible when they become famous.

[homer winslow]

09:49 AM on 12/22/2011

You have that right. Some people however do care about the welfare of animals and the quality of food they consume.

[The Breather]

11:22 PM on 12/23/2011

As do I. However, many of these celebrities are nothing more than opportunists looking for pblicity and vegans continuing their attacks on fast food and seeking to tell us how to eat.

[bragladish]

02:36 PM on 12/21/2011

Well, that's the last straw for me... seeing this video has made the choice, never to eat at one of these stores ever again, really easy.

[elsquibbs]

02:01 PM on 12/21/2011

I see some B actors and semi-celebs found a way to get their name in the press.

[bragladish]

02:35 PM on 12/21/2011

oh, give it up! You're allowed your opinion and so are they!

[gbaker9916]

06:09 PM on 12/21/2011

And he gave you his opinion as to their motives. What's your point??

[meganmarieborn]

11:26 AM on 12/24/2011

That comment was irrelevant. (Directed at bragladish) He never said they weren't allowed to give their opinion; he was simply giving his. So, why don't you give it up?

[homer winslow]

09:51 AM on 12/22/2011

Everyone has a right to their opinion, just as every one has a right to decide the quality of food they choose to consume. If you choose to support animal cruelty and eat food that is not healthy, more power to you. Merry Christmas.

[Anti-Panoptic]

01:58 PM on 12/21/2011

3 years McFree!

[flowereater]

07:25 PM on 12/21/2011

Congratulations. It will soon be 6 for me and my partner after watching McLibel.

[homer winslow]

09:52 AM on 12/22/2011

20 years meat free. I do consume eggs, but they come from our chickens who live a very happy life in the pasture beside the barn.

[stealcity]

12:09 PM on 12/21/2011

After these cats spend a lifetime having 3 dollars and 12 cents to buy food for the next day or two, I might give a hoot about what they say. It is so much cheaper for them to raise a fuss then give some cash start a food program for those who are just getting by. Ya you can go to the store and get lunch meat and bread, take it home ...ect, If you have a home

[grneydmuse]

11:46 AM on 12/21/2011

BOYCOTT McDonald's...

[soozeeqster in OH]

09:40 AM on 12/21/2011

OK, stop whining and do something about it - get yourself a hen or two and build a coop and have them hang out in your backyard. Benefits, you ask? They not only give you delicious cage free eggs, they EAT BUGS and make your grass greener than you can imagine. We have 2 dozen hens (no rooster), and what they teach your kids is incredible and they DO learn where food comes from. Imagine being able to hang out in your own backyard in the evening without every mosquito on earth taking aim at you - the chickens head for the coop at dusk and don't make a peep. Try it - stop whining, you can do it better than Phactory Pharms.

[flowereater]

07:27 PM on 12/21/2011

I see it as shedding light on an issue that needs attention. They are not, as you say, "whining" at all.

[homer winslow]

09:59 AM on 12/22/2011

They are not whining. They are bringing a food issue to the public eye. I agree with you about raising your own chickens, but not all people can do so because of where they live. It is more economical to raise your own, I know because like you I do. When we have extra eggs, which is every week, we take them to church on Sunday and give them to less fortunate families.

[meganmarieborn]

11:28 AM on 12/24/2011

Did you know there are community garden centers where you can rent a patch of land for vegetables, chickens, etc? Where you live is no excuse, if you really want to live a more natural lifestyle.