Questions answered

There are 4 questions about “Animal feed” in the “How do you operate?” topic.

Click on a question to read our answer.

1. I am impressed by your use of semi-skimmed organic milk but could you tell me how much time the cows spend grazing rather than being fed.
Thank you for your feedback. The Dairy Cows are not classified as being 'Free Range'. The majority of Dairy cows are let out of barns during the summer to graze on grass fields. They are then brought back in during the winter because of the cold, wet weather.

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2. Do the suppliers of your beef use any growth hormones for their cattle? Isee an email regarding halal McDonalds, In your response it says you are currently lookinging into it. I sincerely hope you do not go this route. This barbaric practice has no place in our country.
No. There are no growth hormones used in cattle production or feed. Hormones, meat and bone meal are banned in cattle feed throughout the UK and Europe. JUNE '07 UPDATE: McDonald's trials Halal chicken at a restaurant in Southall, London. SEPTEMBER '09 TRIAL RESULT: McDonald’s began this trial because we wanted to assess customer demand for certified Halal food in our UK restaurants. We have learnt that Halal is only popular with a very small percentage of our customers and to offer it we would need to make significant changes to our kitchen procedures and supply chain. Given this, we have decided that we are not currently in a position to roll out Halal food in the UK.

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3. I take your point in the 'Animal Welfare' section that currently producing chickens for meat in a free range environment is a small and specialist industry. However, this is simply down to the economics of supply and demand - and were a huge retailer like McDonalds to go to market requesting a free-range supplier for their chicken, these kinds of operations would pretty quickly spring into existance, would they not? Surely a massive opportunity for McDonalds to become a force for good?
McDonald’s agrees with you and is continually reviewing the availability of free range chicken. The company will be taking this into account in future plans but currently, there still isn’t enough to supply McDonald’s needs.

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4. Are your chickens factory farm and fed chemicals to grow faster and bigger?
No chemicals, antibiotic growth stimulants or hormones are fed to any animals used by McDonald's to produce its food: they are strictly forbidden under the McDonald's Agricultural Assurance Programme (MAAP). The British Poultry Council also sets high standards for chicken welfare which is monitored though a set a regulations called Assured Chicken Production (ACP). All suppliers that work with McDonald's must adhere to these standards and procedures. (June 2007)

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