McDonald's To Transition To Buying Only Cage-free Eggs Over Next 10 Years

McDonald's Corp. said it will transition to using only cage-free eggs over the next 10 years for all its nearly 16,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. McDonald's USA buys about 2 billion eggs a year, and McDonald's Canada buys 120 million eggs, to serve on breakfast sandwiches. Since 2011, only about 13 million eggs bought a year are cage free. "Our customers are increasingly interested in knowing more about their food and where it comes from," said McDonald's USA President Mike Andres. "Our decision to source only cage-free eggs reinforces the focus we place on food quality and our menu to meet and exceed our customers' expectations." McDonald's follows a number of food service companies moving to cage-free eggs, including General Mills Inc. , Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , Starbucks Corp. and Kellogg Co. . McDonald's stock, which is still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 2.2% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 7.2%.