Chris MacDonald has written a blog about ethics and supply chain accountability on the http://www.canadianbusiness.com website. Chris’ blog was about how McDonald’s and Target have both stopped using Sparboe Farms as their supplier for eggs. This was caused by worries regarding animal welfare in the facilities of Sparboe. Animal welfare is a very sensitive topic, as many believe that animals should be treated like humans, therefore animal cruelty or abuse would be condemned by many people around the world.

This topic relates to the lecture on Business Ethics. In this scenario McDonald’s and Target had a dilemma of whether or not to continue doing business with Sparboe Farms for a better financial profit, or to find a new supplier to improve public’s opinion of them. This move would be wise as McDonald’s would gain support of activists defending animal rights resulting in increased customer base, and potentially more investors. On the other hand if McDonald’s decided to ignore this issue, the public might hold McDonald’s accountable to the actions of its supplier. People might blame McDonald’s for knowing about Sparboe’s unethical actions, and failing to respond or interfere. This gives food for thought regarding the supply chain ethics, and whether or not a company should be judged based on the suppliers it chooses to deal with.

Work Cited:

” Is McDonald’s right to drop egg supplier Sparboe Farms? | CanadianBusiness.com.”CanadianBusiness.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. <http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_ethics/58175–eggs-ethics-and-supply-chain-accountability>.