Conscious King

Having it your way never tasted so good.

Burger King announced last week that it would – in increased numbers – purchase eggs and pork from slaughterhouses that hold animal rights in higher regard than others.

The No. 2 fast food chain in the country already stands ahead of other like restaurants in this respect, but Burger King’s latest push could end up surprising some. Maybe even those who make Temple the environmentally conscious university it claims to be.But back to the King, where your next order might come with a side of satisfaction. By 2008, 5 percent of the eggs Burger King uses will have come from cage-free hens, while 20 percent of the pork used will have been extracted from pigs that were allowed to roam outside of cramped pens.

This sort of initiative is nothing new for Burger King, which for quite some time has taken steps toward advancing the quality of life for the animals used in food preparation.

The United Egg Producers mandates that the floor space of chickens’ cages be 72 square inches. According to an Associated Press article, the cages Burger King chickens come from are 75 square inches.

That’s not all. In 2001, and according
to the same article, Burger King appealed to the United States Department of Agriculture, asking that all food suppliers strictly uphold the Federal Humane Slaughter Act. The act requires that slaughterhouses employ methods that keep animals “insensible to pain by a single blow that is rapid and effective.”

Perhaps Burger King’s latest animal-rights efforts will help create a more environmentally aware atmosphere at Temple.

Granted, Temple reports that it collected
more than 800 tons of recyclable materials in 2005 from both Main Campus and the Health Sciences Center. But there is so much more that could be done. It starts with sustaining “a green campus culture,” according to President Ann Weaver Hart in her inauguration speech last month.

As part of a global endeavor, Dr. Hart spoke of limiting greenhouse gas emissions while expanding recycling programs here.

And such initiatives are being strongly encouraged. Employing solar power, regulating food-waste disposal standards and designing buildings with environmental designs in mind are along those lines, Hart said.

And as she added in her inauguration address, “Temple will be a full partner in developing innovative ways to practice and demonstrate environmental citizenship.”

It’s reassuring to know that a multi-billion-dollar restaurant like Burger King hasn’t sacrificed morality for the advancement of the Whopper.