November 19th, 2011

McDonald’s has cut ties with one of its egg suppliers after an outside investigation showed numerous incidents of cruelty against laying hens and chicks.

The investigation by Mercy for Animals and ABC showed chickens jammed into tiny cages and mistreated by workers at Sparboe Farms, which has facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado.
Undercover video of the facility and the mistreatment aired on ABC programs yesterday, after which a McDonald’s spokesman said “based upon recent information” it would no longer be accepting eggs from Cargill-owned Sparboe Farms.

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August 5th, 2010

If you’ve ever taken a pre-schooler out to eat, you’ll know that toys are a powerful lure. We adults consider appetizers, drinks, entrees, pricing, calories and ambiance, evaluating a matrix that leads us to lunch.
But five-year-olds are at the mercy of their bellies, and the pull of shiny baubles. A five-year-old wants food and treats.

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June 2nd, 2010

Expanding on a pilot program that saved users an average of $200 annually on utility bills, Chicago’s Citizens Utility Board Wednesday launched the nation’s first online service that rewards users for documented reductions in their energy usage.

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March 9th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

When Ric Richards recently acquired an aging McDonalds in Cary, N.C., he knew the place needed an overhaul. The 25-year-old store was fraying at the edges.

LED lighting at Cary McDonalds

Richards decided to give these particular golden arches a green touch.

Once he’d decided that the building needed replacing, the decision to go eco-friendly was not difficult. Richards knew it made sense from a business standpoint – it would cut energy costs dramatically – and he figured it would resonate with the educated customers living in the Research Triangle region, especially those interested in lower-carbon living.

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July 15th, 2009

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

A robin may be the mascot for the Red Robin restaurant chain, but chickens are the birds getting a big break from the company.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has more than 300 company-owned restaurants, and they are swiftly moving away from the use of eggs produced by hens that live in torturous conditions at factory farms across the country.

Photo: Humane Society of the United States

Hens in ‘battery cages’ by Compassion Over Killing

Right now, about one-third of the eggs in the Red Robin supply chain are “cage-free,” and they intend to have 100 percent of the eggs they serve come from cage-free hens by 2010, the company says.

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April 20th, 2009

By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

The Ethisphere Institute announced its annual selection of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2009. The companies selected must promote ethical business standards and practices by going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas benefiting the public and forcing their competitors to follow suit.

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