When the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (search) claimed victory this week over fast-food chain KFC Corp., the company had no comment. But KFC wasn"t always so "chicken."
PETA sued KFC and parent company Yum! Brands (search) in July, accusing them of "lying to the public about their animal welfare policies."
KFC"s web site had stated, among other things, that "chickens raised for KFC (search) suffered no pain [or] injuries" and that "humane treatment of the birds is ensured."
KFC"s customer service telephone operators used to tell callers, among other things, that PETA"s claims about the way chickens are treated are "untrue" and that KFC had implemented gas-killing as a more humane way of killing chickens (search).
Bowing to PETA"s unilateral attack -- no consumer protection agency participated in the lawsuit -- KFC agreed to stop making these allegedly "false claims" and allowed PETA to approve what the company can say about the way chickens are treated.
I"m sure Yum!"s shareholders will be pleased to learn that rabid animal rights activists have a say in the operations of a business that sells, as its featured product, broiled and fried chicken.
Maybe next, KFC will allow PETA to decide what"s on the menu -- and whatever fare that might be, it surely won"t be chicken.
According to the settlement, PETA is allowing KFC to say that, "KFC disagrees with PETA' s claims. KFC believes that animals should be treated humanely. For this reason, KFC has established animal welfare guidelines (search) for vendors who supply KFC restaurants with chicken."
But the managements of Yum! and KFC are quite wrong if they think this "compromise" will end PETA"s persecution of their business. It"s more likely their effort at appeasement will only whet PETA"s appetite for more of KFC"s blood.
Company management wasn"t so cowardly and naïve last January in response to PETA"s web site posting of a video allegedly depicting chicken production, including footage of a beak-trimming machine (search) in action.
Yum! stated, "PETA is attempting to mislead the public with an outdated and questionable video on chicken production" The system shown is no longer in use in our industry" Only the sharp tip of the beak is removed (on some male birds to prevent injury to other birds), not the large portion as shown in the outdated PETA video. Precision laser technology is rapidly replacing blade systems."
Yum! more aggressively hit the nail on the head, though, when it stated, "PETA"s objective is not to improve animal welfare but to eliminate meat, poultry and other food of animal origin altogether from the human diet. They desire a totally vegan society and will say or do anything to achieve this objective. PETA even approves the use of violence."
So what"s changed since January? Only Yum! management"s decision to undermine KFC"s business and its shareholders" investment, as far as I can tell.
PETA still has the same goals. PETA doesn"t care how "humanely" chickens that are about to be turned into drumsticks, breasts and wings are treated.
KFC"s suppliers could keep chickens in posh coops, raise them on gourmet feed, and gently euthanize them -- and PETA would still label the treatment inhumane. PETA"s goal is to stop KFC from selling chicken for consumption.
But most would disagree with PETA and its 750,000 members. KFC"s customers, in particular, don"t seem to give PETA a second thought.
There are over 11,000 KFC outlets in more than 80 countries and territories around the world serving some eight million customers each day. Those customers will consume more than 900 million pounds of chicken this year.
Finally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (search) sets the standards for animal welfare. There are no reports of KFC violating any laws and regulations concerning animal welfare. And there are certainly no reports of Federal Trade Commission or state consumer fraud action against KFC concerning its statements about the treatment of chickens.
Given strong consumer demand, continued compliance among its suppliers with operative laws and regulations, and shareolder interests, KFC"s management has no business appeasing PETA.
Steven Milloy is the publisher of JunkScience.com, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and the author of Junk Science Judo: Self-defense Against Health Scares and Scams (Cato Institute, 2001).
AS long as its cooked all the way through and the people handling the chicken has washed their hands at least a few times that day, I' m happy.
F--- PETA. They threatened a church in a quiet neighboring community to mine with disruptive protests if the church decided to go on with its plan to have a pig roast at its picnic. They also demanded that the church provide vegan food substitutes. The minister of the church ignored them and they went away- nobody invited these a-holes anyway, and their demands don' t need to be met.
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Obamanfreude - 1. taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.
I just wish there was a KFC CLOSE enough to get a few pieces of that extra crispy chicken from time to time.
I would' nt care HOW it was killed.
When I travel I always make it a point to stop by the Colonel' s place to get a three piece (dark meat) AND a Burger Queen to get a couple double cheeseburgers.
I never thought I would say it, but I get a little tired of deer meat and lamb. I crave a cholesteral bomb from time to time.[8D]
Location: Adirondack Moutains USA Member since sept/02
Posts: 1,639
RE: For all I care you can choke my chicken
Here chicky... chicky... chicky... Here chicky... chicky... chicky... I don' t want to hurt you... I just want to eat you...
I say send the head of peta over to one of these country' s that still practice' s cannibalism. Try that vegan bullsh** over there and see what happens. One more thing did you all know that Peta' s leader is a fag, I' ve seen IT(him) doing some interviews on TV, IT(he) is very proud of who IT(he) is.
The actual problem here is that PETA will mis-lead a handful of people who in return will develope the Bambi syndrome and when they introduce a new anti-hunting bill in your area you now have a handful more of people who are willing to jump on the PETA bandwagon, it is still our job as sportmen and women to protect our hunting rights and privileges, one person against what we stand for and believe in is one to many....
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God, Guns and Guts made America FREE let' s keep all three
I can still see that picture of Ingrid Newkirk with that chicken protruding from her lap. You guys remember the great Hunting.Net vs. Peta debate..." live" ?
For all I care you can choke my chicken
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