hether it reveals golden McNuggets, a loaded McPlant or a classic Big Mac, there’s something supremely satisfying about opening a McDonald’s box. But while your favourite meal hits the spot every time, the story behind what’s in that box just keeps on evolving.
With over 1,400 restaurants serving more than four million customers daily, McDonald’s is a big deal in food and farming. A network of more than 23,000 British and Irish farmers produces food for its menus day in, day out. So innovation on a McDonald’s scale is not to be taken lightly.
What you might not notice on a McDonald’s menu is the quality and sustainability behind your favourite items – whatever you order. It comes from a commitment that’s been baked in for decades, and starts with produce and producers.
For example, many McMuffin lovers would argue that one of the best things you can do with an egg is to put it in a toasted English muffin with a slice of cheese and serve it for breakfast. Better still, you can pair it with a fancy yet affordable coffee.
Another good thing to do with an egg is to produce it in a more sustainable way – something McDonald’s does by only using free-range eggs across the entire menu when available, and it’s been doing so for over 20 years.
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Over 23,000 British and Irish farmers work with McDonald’s, producing food that’s about sustainability and convenience without skimping on quality
Best laid plans
David and Helen Brass, above, showed how increasing tree cover could improve the welfare of their free-range hens
Cracking stuff McDonald’s has been using free-range eggs across its entire menu for more than 20 years
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Photography: Kate Peters
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THINKING OUTSIDE
THE BOX
You can also rest assured that the freshly cracked egg inside your McMuffin was laid by a free-range hen, as McDonald’s uses only free-range eggs across its entire menu, working with British and Irish farms that are committed to animal welfare. One of those is The Lakes Free Range Egg Company in Penrith, Cumbria, whose owners, David and Helen Brass, look after 130,000 birds.
In collaboration with McDonald’s, David and Helen worked with the sustainability group, the Farm Animal Initiative (FAI) on a major piece of research to show how planting trees in bird ranges on farms was beneficial for welfare, as the tree cover makes the hens feels safe from predators, meaning they range further and are more active. The Lakes has now implemented this, planting more trees to enhance welfare and improve quality of the produce. Their hens have plenty of space to scratch, cluck and flap about as they please.
McDonald’s partnerships are dynamic, staying ahead of challenges in the food supply chain and working to further improve standards and welfare. For example, working with Newcastle University, the farm has tested and implemented technology to identify different hen calls and what they reveal about the health of the flock. “Farming is entering an era of massive change,” says David. “When it comes to modern tech and data analysis, there’s work that needs to be done. It’s always about the next thing.”
As for the McDonald’s lunch menu, that Big Mac has plenty going on beyond the box too. Actually, including the box – just like the coffee cup, all the customer packaging is designed to be recyclable.
Those juicy, stacked-up beefburger patties are made with 100 per cent British and Irish beef, accredited by nationally recognised farm assurance schemes, with just a pinch of salt and pepper added after cooking. The welfare of the cattle is paramount, while McDonald’s Farm Forward Programme, launched in 2012, also aims to foster resilient farmers while minimising the industry’s impact on the environment.
The Brongain Farm project with FAI Farms is currently researching multi-paddock grazing, a farming method that allows grass to regenerate more effectively. It was recognised by Compassion in World Farming with its Sustainable Food and Farming Award in 2021.
Would you like fries with that? Currently, only six varieties of potato are approved for McDonald’s fries, and they’re grown by more than 110 farmers in the UK. Again, the process goes deeper than those tubers in the ground and McDonald’s always has an eye on the future.
Grower David Swinbank, based in Richmond, North Yorkshire, used a grant from the McDonald’s Sustainable MacFries Fund to purchase a tiller, which makes planting more efficient and also minimises soil disturbance for a healthier, more reliable crop. The million-pound fund, launched in conjunction with McCain in 2020, has helped many other growers invest in new technology focused on soil quality and water management.
Looking further ahead, David is hoping to find solutions to the challenges that climate change is bringing farmers. “We can maybe look at different, hardier varieties,” he says, adding that the partnership with McDonald’s provides access to innovation. “We always have something new to move on to.”
McDonald’s Plan for Change is all about Planet, People, Restaurants and Food with clear sustainability goals to further improve standards in food production, packaging and the restaurants themselves. There’s an overarching aim to achieve net zero emissions across the entire UK and Ireland business by 2040.
Next time you grab a McMuffin for breakfast, or stop by McDonald’s for a late-night burger, remember that there’s more to the contents of that box than meets the eye.
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NET ZERO CARBON RESTAURANTS
Crate expectations
McDonald's uses only free-range eggs and its Brongain Farm project, below, is a model of low-impact beef farming
Future of Farming
With thousands of family farms producing the food that customers love, there are also many accompanying opportunities to support and develop more sustainable practices. Investing in the next generation of the farming sector through training and exposure to career opportunities is crucial, and this year the McDonald’s Progressive Young Farmer scheme celebrates over a decade of working with undergraduates.
The initiative helps young people kick-start their career in the food and farming industry by spending a year getting to know the McDonald’s supply chain, from farm produce to your McDonald’s favourites.
Embedding best practice also takes place through the McDonald’s Flagship Farmer Programme, which allows farmers who are really hitting it out of the park (or field) in terms of innovation and sustainability to share their knowledge with the wider farming community.
As Flagship Farmers know, leading change is transformative in a way that simply keeping abreast of developments can’t be. Beef – 100 per cent British and Irish – is the only ingredient in McDonald’s signature patties, and the drive to improve its sustainable outcomes is changing farming nationwide.
Already accredited by farm assurance schemes, such as Red Tractor in the UK and Bord Bia in Ireland, McDonald’s beef is the subject of considerable care and attention. Annually funded research (carried out with sustainability in farming experts FAI Farms) into animal welfare and environmental impact is bringing about award-winning change.
Work on the benefits of adaptive multi-paddock grazing for beef cattle, launched in 2021, won last year’s Compassion in World Farming’s Sustainable Food and Farming Award for its regenerative effect on production.
The next step is to spread the word, which has already started, with more farmers being supported to try multi-paddock practices and measure the benefits that they bring.
Work on reducing emissions continues apace. McDonald’s is working closely with its beef farmers to get to grips with what it takes to get a beef farm to achieve net zero – crucial for McDonald’s bold future plans. That means a deep dive into everything from animal breeding and nutrition to carbon accounting, ready to apply a blueprint for beef sustainability to farms around the UK.
Meanwhile, the McDonald’s Farm Forward agriculture programme – which supports resilient farmers, makes environmental improvements and raises animal welfare standards – has a new string to its bow: the Sustainable Beef Network, a growing forum for sharing issues and ideas and taking action on sustainability.
All of this is part of the McDonald’s Plan for Change, the company’s sustainability plan. The National Farmers Union’s goal is to achieve net zero by 2040, which is in line with McDonald’s targets across the UK and Ireland. In a style familiar across the business, this move towards acting more sustainably started decades ago with a raft of bright ideas (such as converting cooking oil to the biodiesel that fuels delivery trucks), innovation and investment.
McDonald’s now has two net zero carbon restaurants (in Market Drayton and Louth, should you be passing). And its commitment to action on waste includes all customer packaging being recyclable or compostable by 2024. Over the next few years, Plan for Change will bring about even more positive evolution for people, the planet, restaurants, food and community. What won’t be changing is the deliciousness and quality of the ingredients that go into a McDonald’s box.
Net zero thinking
Roaming free British and Irish farms are
integral to the business
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