Select News Coverage About PETA’s Farmed Animal Welfare Campaigns

“‘Through a string of highly visible demonstrations and extreme public relations tactics, PETA has become both a proficient corporate arm-twister and an effective public relations machine,’ says Terrie Dort, [National Council of Chain Restaurants] president. ‘Whether you like it or not, PETA’s strategy is very effective,’ Dort says.”
—Progressive Grocer, Jan. 1, 2002

“There are a lot of corporations appeasing these groups, hoping PETA will eat them last.”
—Nick Nichols, former communications officer for Ronald Reagan and CEO of Washington, D.C.–based public relations firm Nichols-Dezenhall, in Investor’s Business Daily, Mar. 27, 2002

“‘There has been a shift in public opinion,’ Dort acknowledged. ‘[T]he ad campaigns that PETA has engaged in have been successful in shifting public sentiment.’”
—Nation’s Restaurant News, Dec. 17, 2001

“Burger King Inc., McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s International, and Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill already have issued separate standards after being pressured by PETA.”
—Meat-industry journal Feedstuffs, July 8, 2002

“‘Consumers can move retailers in directions they don’t want to go,’ said [Linda Toby] Oswald-Felker, Safeway’s vice-president of public affairs. She cited the recent ‘Shameway’ campaign waged against the company by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. ‘They turned on the light of an issue we need to address,’ she said. PETA’s video footage of animal welfare violations by Safeway suppliers led to charges of animal cruelty and the introduction of new measures by the grocer.”
—The Western Producer, Jan. 27, 2003

“Jim Reeves, president of the U.S. Beef Brands Council … said groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have issued a wake-up call for the industry and forced the issue of improving animal husbandry on producers.”
—The Western Producer, Jan. 27, 2003

“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals scored a major victory this year when the McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s fast-food chains adopted policies designed to improve the treatment of animals they get from suppliers. The policies include unannounced visits to supplier slaughterhouses and threats to terminate contracts with meat processors that mistreat animals. The campaign has picked up support in Congress. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) added $1 million to the [U.S.] Department of Agriculture’s budget to ensure enforcement of 1958 federal laws requiring that food animals be properly treated at slaughterhouses and be unconscious when they are slaughtered. Byrd has not previously been involved in animal-rights issues.”
—Scripps Howard News Service, Oct. 30, 2001

“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, challenged McDonald’s. Not so much for serving meat but for being party to a system of cruelty. In August 2000, McDonald’s capitulated and agreed to only buy meat from suppliers that could ensure minimum humane treatment of livestock. On June 28, PETA secured even grander promises from Burger King. … I say bravo. PETA is not just the most raucous of the big humane groups, but it deserves the trophy right now for doing the most for the largest number of animals—those that feed us.”
—Los Angeles Times columnist John Balzar, July 13, 2001

“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claimed victory last June after more than [800] ‘Murder King’ protest rallies spread over five months prompted Burger King, the world’s second-largest fast-food chain, to announce new guidelines for its meat and egg suppliers, including extra water, wing room, and fresh air for egg-laying hens and mandatory stunning of pigs and cattle prior to slaughter. Surprise inspections by Burger King auditors will help to ensure that suppliers treat animals humanely right up to the end. McDonald’s established similar guidelines a year earlier, following a PETA campaign that included distribution of ‘Unhappy Meals’ with [‘wounded,’] [‘bloody’] farm-animal toys.”
—Discover magazine, Jan. 2002

“McDonald’s buckled first. Then Burger King. Now, Wendy’s has plans to bolster its animal welfare standards following intense pressure from an animal rights group. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) today will announce the end of its 2-month-old campaign against Wendy’s. The move comes one day after the fast-food chain told PETA it would strengthen oversight of its suppliers and improve treatment of animals before and during slaughter.”
—USA Today, Sept. 2001

“Consumer demand—not to mention activist pressure—is pushing the [animal agriculture] industry toward the ‘humane’ side of animal handling ….”
—Meatingplace, Nov. 22, 2007

“Animal welfare continues to be an emerging segment of the food business, and it’s one supermarket retailers are right to invest in. Consumer interest and activist efforts to expose some of the darker secrets on the processing side can have a big impact on the sales end—particularly when there are protesters outside stores, amendments introduced at annual stockholders meetings and other public awareness stunts. … Safeway this week made the important decision to change its policies regarding food animals. The nation’s third-largest supermarket chain had been in ongoing talks with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society of the United States to adopt more animal-friendly sourcing rules.”
—Supermarket News blog, Feb. 11, 2008