NASHVILLE, Tenn. — McDonald’s Corporation has decided to offer verified sustainable beef in its 34,000 restaurants in 120 countries by 2016.
The McDonald’s vice-president of corporate sustainability said sustainable beef production goes beyond doing the right thing for society and protecting the environment. It also is paramount to staying in business, said Bob Langert on Feb. 3 at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention in Nashville, Tennessee
“We really feel with sustainability we can really grow our business,” he said.
McDonald’s is working with other multinational corporations like Cargill, JBS Foods and the World Wildlife Fund to offer a sustainable product that is safe to eat.
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The new business strategy will be released in May where it promises to offer safe, high quality food on a consistent basis that is profitable for everyone in the supply chain.
McDonald’s purchases about two percent of the world’s beef supply but feels it has made influential changes like introducing animal welfare audits at packing houses in 1999. These are now common among international fast service restaurants.
Beef producers may argue they are sustainable operations but they need to prove it, said Langert.
McDonald’s has struggled to prove it is a socially responsible company. The public still demands proof about charitable giving, environmental care, waste reduction and safe food handling.
“The average customer at McDonald’s does not believe our beef is 100 percent beef. No matter what we do we have not conquered that myth,” he said.
The company plans to talk more about where it gets its beef, pork, poultry, potatoes and lettuce so it will do more advertising and use social media to show the public where its food comes from. It also wants to set its own agenda on sustainability with suppliers.
“We are not going to let a small group of activists define what sustainable food is in a small elite manner. We will work with you to make sustainability available to the masses. It should be like quality and safety, a part of doing business,” he said.
McDonald’s is a member of the global round table for sustainable beef that includes producer groups, pharmaceutical companies and processors from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union and the United States. Last May the group formed a committee to develop a definition and standards for sustainable beef production.
The NCBA convention is from Feb. 3-7 with about 6,200 participants.
