On July 12, 2001, PETA points out to Wendy's that its media statement is untrue and could subject the corporation to a consumer fraud lawsuit

July 12, 2001

Jack Schuessler, CEO
Wendy's International, Inc.
4288 W. Dublin-Granville Rd.
Dublin, OH 43017

Dear Mr. Schuessler:

You may be staring down the barrel of a consumer fraud lawsuit.

Last Thursday, July 5, Wendy's issued a news release stating: "Wendy's International confirmed today that its comprehensive animal welfare program … meets guidelines recently announced by its two major competitors … [including] regular announced and unannounced animal welfare audits of all beef, chicken, and pork suppliers." The release also states, "Wendy's also has an established animal welfare advisory council that meets regularly to review company and supplier audits and other initiatives."

You quote Dr. Temple Grandin as saying, "Wendy's has one of the most comprehensive animal welfare auditing programs in the industry. The company's commitment to the humane treatment of animals is evidenced by semi-annual audits of each meat-packing facility they utilize," and follow this statement immediately with, "These audits cover a thorough review of animal housing, transportation, holding facilities, and other areas."

In fact, Dr. Grandin's statement deals exclusively with slaughter regulations for cows and pigs and does not cover any of the additional areas to which you refer. Additionally, she told us that she does not know of any Wendy's animal welfare regulations beyond slaughter standards for cows and pigs.

It is unbelievable that you would issue a news release that misrepresents your principal animal welfare expert, a person held in such high esteem by both the animal welfare and agricultural communities. We believe that you owe Dr. Grandin an apology for using her in this way.

The fact is that you appear to have lied to the public. You need to either attend Burger King's animal welfare meetings or convene a panel of animal welfare experts (we can only assume that you have a few people at Wendy's who meet to discuss these issues, and you're calling it an animal welfare panel, since Dr. Grandin knows of no such panel; in contrast, McDonald's, Burger King, and Tricon, have multiple animal welfare experts on their animal welfare panels). Then, if you work with Dr. Grandin to do everything that Burger King and McDonald's are doing, we will happily leave Wendy's alone.

Dr. Grandin has respect for what Wendy's has done to improve dying conditions for cows and pigs. Out of respect for her, PETA would prefer to give you the benefit of the doubt on animal welfare issues. But when 13 phone calls over a long period of time go unreturned, Mr. Denny Lynch misrepresents Wendy's progress to the media, and then you release blatantly false information to the media, we are left with a very negative feeling indeed.

Please call Dr. Steven Gross immediately to discuss these issues. There is still time to avoid a full-scale campaign against Wendy's if you make good on the news release that you sent out last week. This will require a call to Dr. Gross and a statement from Wendy's that details your immediate plans to audit chicken slaughter, implement standards for laying hens that mirror Burger King's and McDonald's (e.g., not purchasing from suppliers that force-molt, debeak, or cram seven to eight hens into a tiny battery cage), implement catching incentives to reduce bone breaks for broiler chickens, phase out the use of crates and stalls for pigs, and file a petition with the USDA calling for enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act. Additionally, as Burger King and McDonald's have already done, a pledge of animal welfare updates from Wendy's needs to be placed on your Web site.

Both McDonald's and Burger King are sharing everything they're doing on animal welfare with their competitors. Please take advantage of their generosity by joining with them to make significant improvements in animal welfare. If you are serious about animal welfare, PETA stands ready to assist you in every possible way. If, however, you misrepresent Dr. Grandin and attempt to mislead the media and the public, we stand ready to expose your duplicity with a full-scale campaign that will include thousands of demonstrations, billboards, advertisements, the potential for litigation for consumer fraud, and more.

Yours sincerely,

Bruce G. Friedrich
PETA

cc: Dr. Temple Grandin
Dr. Steven Gross
Denny Lynch, Wendy's, Spokesperson
Kathy Chestnut, Wendy's, Executive Vice President
Dennis Hacker, Wendy's, Quality Control