CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. announced on Feb. 6 that it reached its goal of sourcing 100% cage-free eggs in the United States two years ahead of the original goal.

The quick-service restaurant first made the pledge to move to cage-free eggs in 2015. 

“Our journey to move to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs in the US was a huge undertaking — made uniquely possible by our owner/operators, Cargill and their egg producers, and our supply chain working together as one team,” said Bob Stewart, senior vice president of North America and chief supply chain officer for McDonald’s. “I am incredibly proud of what we achieved together and the positive impact we will continue to make on the path toward a more sustainable future.”

McDonald’s explained that each egg farm supply in the United States would create an environment that allows birds freedom to express their natural behaviors and include enrichments such as perches, scratch areas, and nests. Each egg farm would also have an attending veterinarian to ensure high care for the birds.

Along with Cargill, McDonald’s will also rely on its partners like fourth-generation family business Forsman Farms based in Minnesota.

“As a family, we sat down and said, ‘Are we going to be able to do it?’” said Peter Forsman, owner of Forsman Farms. “We had zero cage-free systems, and we knew this was going to be a big challenge.” As US-based egg producers actioned the changes necessary to qualify as cage-free, McDonald’s and Cargill were there in lockstep to support through the transition.”

McDonald’s also worked with animal welfare experts and academics to help egg producers build and renovate farms to use new technology.

Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, a fourth-generation family business in Michigan, has operated since 1958 and has been supplying Cargill for the McDonald’s system for decades. 

“I really can’t say enough about our partnership with Cargill and McDonald’s. They understand the difficulties that we have,” said Herb Herbruck, president of Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch. “They want to hear about our challenges, and they want to help us through them.”