Taco Bell's new breakfast program will be getting a more humane makeover with a new promise to only use cage-free eggs in their restaurants. Parent company Yum Brands Inc. announced the news today, saying that all of their United States restaurants will make the change by the end of next year. Will this improve the lackluster Waffle Taco? Probably from the hen's perspective.
This timely bit of news comes soon after the company was criticized for not adopting humane meat practices as most other fast food giants scramble to get on the bandwagon. To that criticism, the company points to their escalated timeline: where other brands are giving themselves upwards of five years to make the switch, Taco Bell will do it in 12 months. Still, as the Wall Street Journal points out, Taco Bell only uses 130 million eggs a year versus McDonald's robust 2 billion.
Fast food brands have had to rethink their sourcing policies in recent years after facing stiff competition from places like Chipotle, which has set strict policies on ethically-sourced ingredients. Jokes about Taco Bell products eclipse even the McRib, so much so that the company has made efforts for transparency, whether they're to be believed or not. Grand gestures notwithstanding, Taco Bell probably has very little to worry about in maintaining their base.
