Free the Chickens (PETA Post)

Via The Center for Consumer Freedom, I found this article.

Kweisi Mfume, president and chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has signed a letter in support of an animal rights group's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Norfolk, Va.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a low-budget group that often seeks high-profile supporters to spread its message, posted the letter on its Web site this week to add weight to its three-year battle.

The one-page letter, dated Sept. 10 and written on NAACP letterhead stationery, is addressed to David Novak, chairman and chief executive officer of Yum! Brands Inc., which owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands. It asks the company to require its suppliers to employ more humane methods in breeding and slaughtering chickens.

Uh, okay.

Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! responded to the PETA campaign with a release that said: "KFC is committed to the well-being and humane treatment of chickens and we require all of our suppliers to follow welfare guidelines developed by us with leading experts on our Animal Welfare Advisory Council."

The fast-food chain, which has a large presence in black neighborhoods, also points out on its Web site that it was named one of Fortune magazine's "50 best companies for minorities."

Mfume's support for PETA, while limited to a five-paragraph letter, raised eyebrows among some NAACP observers.

Ronald Walters, director of the University of Maryland's African American Leadership Institute, said he was not sure how much more Mfume could do before being criticized by NAACP membership for diverting focus from people.

He said involvement might be warranted if the criticism targeted labor practices or marketing to blacks, who make up a disproportionate number of fast food customers and workers. The letter, however, could have some impact.

Lovely. Now chickens are an issue of race. I like Consumer Freedom's take on it.

Doesn't the NAACP have better things to do than educating Americans that, yes, chickens expire in the making of two-piece dinners?

Breast and a leg or a wing and a thigh, biscuit, cole slaw, and a little tub o' mashed potatoes.

hln

Posted by hln at September 13, 2003 06:44 PM | PETA! | TrackBack