McDonald's has taken steps to improve the welfare of the unfortunate creatures who are used to make McFood. {You can read about these changes here: http://www.peta-online.org/news/800/800mcdvict.html }.

The most effective means of eliciting change from a corporation is to include the following in your correspondence:

1. Indication that you are a customer (why would they care about input from someone who’s not paying them?)
2. Acknowledgment of changes and improvements already made (let them know you pay attention to what they do)
3. Respectful request for expanded and improved changes. If possible, you should also include statistics, scientific data, etc. (as long as you know it to be true!). Appeals to emotion are only effective when reinforced by quantifiable data.

Here is a *sample e-mail*, sent through their U.S. corporate web site:

I want to thank McDonalds for its recent concessions with regard to food-animal welfare issues. As a customer who is very concerned about the plight of the animals used in McDonalds' products, I was heartened to see that this issue is being considered and addressed.

My hope is that these modest reforms are only the beginning of a burgeoning awareness by McDonalds of the importance of caring for the animals that become so many people's food. Certainly McDonalds customers would not explicitly condone animal cruelty or mistreatment, and it is a testament to McDonalds' commitment to its customers and their values that these changes are being made. Please continue to expand and enforce these animal welfare regulations so that no creature endures undue pain and suffering in the name of profits. Thank you.

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