Not too long ago, there was a big dustup in which I was (shamefully) involved over in the Pit. It involved PETA’s “Unhappy Meals” campaign, designed to inform McDonalds customers, especially children, about how their food was treated before it got to their plate. The overall impression of the campaign was negative, although it involved a long history between PETA and McDonalds and the findings of a UK court that McDonalds’ suppliers engage in wholesale cruelty, plus a frivolous libel suit waged by McD’s against PETA.
Apparently, the campaign made some impact. Today McDonalds issued new rules to their poultry suppliers. Considering that PETA isn’t even in the McDonalds target audience, so they have no reason to consider their complaints on the face of things, it would appear that they think more human treatment is the right thing to do, or at least is good business.
The full story can be read at http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6721-2000Aug22.html