As a result of GAIA's actions, many restaurant and supermarket chains in Belgium have already decided to stop selling chicken meat produced using the worst farming and slaughter practices. Yet McDonald's continues to turn a blind eye to the suffering of broiler chickens and to refuse any commitment.
"Unhappy Meal’: the new campaign targeting McDonald's
On the 29th of August, GAIA launched a new campaign calling on McDonald's to sign the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). The BCC is an international commitment to improve the welfare of broiler chickens.
As part of the campaign, GAIA has created a sinister parody of the Happy Meal, the famous children's menu box marketed by McDonald's since the late 1970s. Our ‘Unhappy Meal’, a macabre replica of the iconic red and yellow box, contains:
- A portion of fried chicken feet ;
- Chicken nuggets made from chicken heads;
- A serving of chicken blood sauce;
- A ‘Sagged Sally’ figurine, modelled after the restaurant's traditional collectible figurines;
- A leaflet listing all the crippled or sick chicken figurines available for collection;
- Some disclaimers, such as ‘not suitable for children under the age of 3 who love animals’.
Together with the Unhappy Meal, a major satirical campaign has been launched to inform the general public about the intensive farming of broiler chickens and McDonald's contribution to this disastrous industry.
GAIA launched a brand new website, www.unhappymeal.be, and will distribute several visuals on their social networks. The materials used in the virtual campaign incorporate all of McDonald's communication codes, thereby aiming to reach the American fast-food giant's target audience.
McDonald's doesn't care about its chickens
Thanks to GAIA's efforts, many companies have already signed the Better Chicken Commitment. Among other improvements, signing this charter means a company guarantees the use of slower-growing breeds, more living space for chickens and less painful slaughter methods.
By refusing to sign the Better Chicken Commitment, McDonald's underlines its indifference to animal suffering. The fastfood leader continues to ignore the growing societal demand for better treatment of farmed animals.
In conventional chicken farms, tens of thousands of chickens are kept in sheds with no access to the outside and no natural light. As a result of intense genetic selection, they grow incredibly fast, reaching their slaughter weight in just forty days. As a result, they soon become unable to bear their own weight and suffer from leg and joint pain, limping, paralysis and occasionally fatal respiratory and heart conditions.
In conventional chicken farms, the population density can be as high as 22 chickens per m², meaning that each bird has a living space no larger than a sheet of A4 paper. As the litter is never changed throughout the fattening phase, the chickens are forced to live on a soil covered in excrement. The released ammonia causes burns on their legs, chest and in their lungs.
Once the chickens arrive at the slaughterhouse, they are hung upside down on metal hooks by their legs while they are still alive. This method causes extremely painful fractures and dislocations of the legs and wings. Their heads are then immersed in an electric water bath that is supposed to render them unconscious. Yet in some cases this procedure is not done correctly and the birds end up having their throats slit while still fully conscious.
The Better Chicken Commitment
Over the past few years, GAIA has been trying to persuade McDonald's to sign the Better Chicken Commitment, a pledge to guarantee better living and slaughtering conditions for broiler chickens. GAIA has already persuaded the fastfood giant's competitors Subway and KFC, as well as supermarket chains Colruyt, Okay, Cora, Delhaize, Lidl, Aldi and Carrefour, to sign the Better Chicken Commitment.
The BBC requirements include:
a reduction in the population density on chicken farms;
prohibition of fast-growing chicken breeds;
access to natural light;
an enriched environment allowing the chickens to express natural behaviours that are important for their well-being;
a slaughter method that does not involve hanging the chickens upside down by their feet (a procedure that is particularly painful for chickens).
2023 campaign: McDont's
Despite repeated requests from GAIA, McDonald's still refuses to commit to improving the living and slaughter conditions of their broiler chickens. In 2023, GAIA had already placed pressure on the company with the ‘McDon'ts’ campaign. Giant screens showing the ordeal endured by broiler chickens were set up in front of several Belgian McDonald's restaurants to persuade the chain to make a commitment. Customers were faced with the truth about their chicken nuggets and chicken burgers.
