This week McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd., announced it would be transitioning to using only cage-free eggs on its menu. The transition will happen over 10 years, but will start right away, with McDonald's immediately beginning to source five per cent cage-free eggs.

McDonald's says this change reinforces the focus they're putting to make sure their menu meets changing consumer expectations.

Cory Rybuck, general manager of Manitoba Egg Farmers, agrees consumer preferences continue to change.                                                  

mcdonalds mcmuffin
A McDonald's Egg McMuffin (Courtesy of Andrea Wasserberg)

"We see it with other commodities and eggs as well, that consumers change their preferences and what they value over time, and food companies and restaurants change to meet those requirements. That's something our farmers will do as well," he says.

Rybuck says there are some egg farmers supplying McDonald's here in Manitoba, and there are already wide variety of housing systems for chickens, including free-run,  free-range, and aviary. But for the producers who would need to change or convert their operations in order to meet these requirements, it could be costly.

"The space requirements for the birds increases, so a bigger barn is needed, and a different kind of equipment [is needed] so there's a higher capital cost," says Rybuck. "I'm going to guess-timate that it's probably 25 to 30 per cent more than what a conventional barn would cost."

McDonald's says it will work with industry stakeholders to figure out the best way forward, while working within the Canadian supply management system.

"We're proud of the work we're doing with suppliers and farmers to further advance environmentally and socially conscious practices for the animals in our supply chain," said Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald's North America Supply Chain, in a press release. "This is a bold move and we're confident in our ability to provide a quality, safe, and consistent supply."

Manitoba produces about 60 million dozen eggs each year. McDonald's purchases approximately 120 million eggs from Canadian farmers each year.