McDonald's To Use Free-Range Eggs In New Zealand Restaurants

There might be an egg shortage in America because of bird flu, but the McDonald's headquarters in New Zealand has pledged to only use cage-free eggs, according to 3News.

Patrick Wilson, managing director of McDonald's New Zealand, told 3News that the 54 franchise locations in that country use 13 million eggs a year. "We purchase a substantial amount of eggs a year — nearly 13 million — so in order to keep up with demand, our egg suppliers will be investing significantly in new farms and farming systems," Wilson said.

Wilson said that the move was made because of the customers. A lot of people asked about free-range eggs on the McDonald's New Zealand website. Once McDonald's fully switches over to using free-range eggs, the company will purchase about nine percent of the eggs sold in the country, which could be very good for farmers.

The McDonald's locations in Christchurch and Dunedin in New Zealand have been using free-range eggs from Northland's Otaika Valley Free Range Eggs since 2009.