The Five Freedoms Ignored:
American Century Investment Management
Cruelty exposed
This photo is representative of the standard industrial farming practices permitted in the company’s supply chain.Photo: Stefano Belacchi / Animal Welfare Observatory / We Animals
American Century Investment Management is one of the major investors in MK Restaurant.
And as an investor in MK Restaurant, American Century Investment Management is profiting from some of the worst animal cruelty in the global food industry.
From hens trapped in small cages for their entire lives, unable to spread their wings or engage in natural behaviors, to birds suffering from weakened bones and chronic pain due to extreme confinement, MK Restaurant is allowing brutal mistreatment in order to save a few pennies per meal.
We reached out directly to American Century Investment Management, providing clear information of the cruelty they are enabling through their investment in MK Restaurant. No response. No action. Just silence.
While responsible investors are pushing companies to modernize and eliminate outdated, abusive systems, American Century Investment Management is doing nothing. By continuing to back MK Restaurant, they are sending a clear message: animal suffering is an acceptable price for returns.
They had a choice.
They still do.
But the longer they stay silent, the clearer it becomes — American Century Investment Management isn’t just standing by. They’re standing in the way of progress and humanity.
Behind the eggs served by MK Restaurant lies a grim reality of suffering.
Hens are crammed into tiny, barren battery cages so restrictive that the birds can’t spread their wings, turn around, or exhibit any of their natural behaviors. These sentient animals are reduced to mere egg-laying machines, enduring a lifetime of misery standing on wire floors that can cut into their feet and leave their bodies bruised and featherless. Packed so tightly, hens often injure each other out of stress and frustration.
Even the basics of life are denied. With no access to dust bathing, perches, or fresh air, these intelligent and curious animals are trapped in a world devoid of stimulation and comfort.
The stress and overcrowding can lead to severe health issues, including brittle bones that fracture easily and uterine prolapse from the relentless egg production. Many hens die in their cages, their decomposing bodies left among the living until workers remove them. In this system, nearly every one of the Five Freedoms is breached: hens are denied freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury, and disease, freedom to express normal behavior, and freedom from fear and distress.
Yet MK Restaurant permits its suppliers to continue using these barbaric systems.
MK Restaurant has the power and responsibility to stop permitting these extreme cruelties in its supply chain. The public expects better, and animals deserve to live free from this egregious and unnecessary suffering.
It’s time for MK Restaurant to do what many other leading food companies have already done and put policies in place that ensure the Five Freedoms for animals in its supply chain.
