MINNEAPOLIS – McDonald’s and Target dropped one of the nation’s largest egg suppliers after an animal rights group released an undercover video at the egg producer’s farm in three states.

McDonald’s Corp. said Friday it had dropped Sparboe Farms as a supplier after a video by the group Mercy for Animals showed cases of animal cruelty at five facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado. Target Corp. soon followed, saying it would pull eggs from the Litchfield, Minn.-based company off its shelves.

“Having been made aware of the unacceptable conditions in the company’s egg laying facilities, effective immediately, Target will discontinue its business relationship with Sparboe Farms,” Minneapolis-based Target said in a statement late Friday.

Sparboe produces 300 million eggs a year, in regular, liquid, frozen and dried form, and ships them to restaurants and stores across the country. The company’s Vincent, Iowa, plant had billed itself as the sole fresh egg supplier to every McDonald’s west of the Mississippi River.

McDonald’s officials say Sparboe was a “significant” supplier and that it was unclear when, or if, the company would work with the Golden Arches again. Sparboe’s Iowa facility produced 2 million eggs a day, seven days a week.

That changed Friday when images shot by Mercy for Animals showed a worker swinging a bird around by its feet, hens packed into cramped cages, male chicks being tossed into plastic bags to suffocate and workers cutting off the tips of chicks’ beaks.

“The behavior on tape is disturbing and completely unacceptable. McDonald’s wants to assure our customers that we demand humane treatment of animals by our suppliers,” Bob Langert, McDonald’s vice president for sustainability, said in a statement.

The nation’s largest retailer — Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Stores Inc. — also buys Sparboe eggs and has been demanding for years that suppliers treat their chickens humanely.

Walmart said it stopped working with Sparboe six weeks ago and that its decision had “nothing to do with animal welfare concerns,” said Dianna Gee, a Walmart spokeswoman. She declined to discuss why Sparboe was dropped, citing company policy.

McDonald’s and other fast-food chains and grocery stores have been studying how chickens are caged and cared for on egg farms.

The Humane Society has persuaded several national food outlets, including Burger King, Costco Wholesale, Denny’s and Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, to buy at least some of their eggs from producers that allow hens to roam.

 

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