Questions answered
There are 8 questions about “Suppliers” in the “What are you doing about...” topic.
Click on a question to read our answer.
- 1. Does Mcdonalds use beef from Brazil?
-
Yes, there are reputable beef farmers in Brazil who will supply McDonald's locally in South America. However McDonald's globally works with its suppliers to a policy of not taking cattle from recently deforested areas in the Amazon Rainforest. In this country, McDonald's has a policy to source its ingredients locally wherever it can and last year all its beef came from British and Irish farmers.
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 2. The real question is about your dealings with your suppliers. In line with supermarket chains that put tremendous pressure on small suppliers that they nearly drive them out of business, how 'ethical' and just to the farming community is Mc Donalds?
-
McDonald's believes that it treats its suppliers fairly, and respectfully. McDonald's are committed to long-term relationships, with a limited number of supplier partners. For suppliers this means investing with the confidence that they will be treated as partners in the business. Many suppliers have worked with McDonald's for 10, 20 or even 30 years.
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 3. What is McDonalds prepared to do about the ever increasing problems associated with feeding its livestock corn? Specficially, this refers to the fact that cows and chickens do not naturally eat corn (cows eat grass) and doing so causes them to become ill. Farmers counteract this by giving the cows antibiotics, but isn't this just helping to deveolop microbes with greater resistance to modern anitbiotics? What is McDonalds going to do about this?
-
Cattle are herbivores and will happily eat plant material which is digestible. The Farmers and suppliers that work with McDonald's do not feed their animals on diets which make them ill. Cattle feed diets can range from grass and straw, to a variety of cereals, maize and root crops. Further, antibiotic growth promoters or hormones are also strictly forbidden by the requirements of McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Programme (MAAP). You can get an inside view and more information by viewing or reading one of the reports by the Quality Scouts that have visited some of the farms and suppliers that McDonald's work with. Just click on the 'Quality Scouts' link on this site to find out more.
(July 2007)
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 4. Please can you tell me what is the average amount of time between when a cow is slaughtered to when it appears in my burger? My mate says it can be over 6 months!! Is this true? Thanks, M
-
The beef used for McDonald's burgers will be minced within three to five days of the animal's slaughter. The patties are then frozen and sent immediately to the restaurants where they will be served within three months.
(June 2007)
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 5. Do you not think that constantly seeking to cut costs you are sourcing products fromirresponcible places?
-
No, McDonald’s does not source food from irresponsible suppliers. The quality, safety and traceability of McDonald’s food is a top priority for the company. All raw ingredients have to meet exacting specifications. every detail of production, transport, delivery and preparation is extensively monitored and enforced by highly trained teams of professionals who work closely with their supplier partners. To find out more about McDonald’s supplies, you can follow the Quality Scouts programme. Quality Scouts are members of the public who have volunteered to visit farms and McDonald’s suppliers to see for themselves how and where ingredients are sourced, and they are reporting back their finding on this site.
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 6. You talk about local sourcing but doesn’t that really mean importing entire systems of agricultural production – to the detriment of home-grown suppliers?
-
No. That’s not the case. McDonald's has a policy to source locally wherever possible. McDonald's is a strong supporter of British farming, and as such works with 17,200 British and Irish farmers who supply McDonald's with ingredients for the menu items – from beef, to eggs, to lettuce, milk and so on. All suppliers, whether here or abroad are subject to exacting standards of quality, safety and traceability.
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 7. How come you continue to purchase meat from suppliers who abuse and mistreat animals?
-
McDonald's believes that the welfare of animals is important and for that reason will not work with any supplier who does not adhere to McDonald's high standards, and those required by UK and EU legislation. In 2002 the McDonald’s Agricultural Assurance Programme was set up to make sure that every step in the supply chain is monitored and lives up to these high standards. McDonald's also works with internationally renowned welfare experts to ensure best practices are in place and you might also be surprised to find out that last year McDonald’s was awarded an RSPCA Alternative Award for their commitment to improving animal welfare in the ‘fast food’ category.
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 8. Aren't you just green washing having a couple of healthy products which no kids ever buy and still selling the same old "food"? Where does your meat come from? I realise you'll say it's quality assured or something similar but is it from small local farms which have decent conditions for the animals to live in?
-
McDonald's has a policy to source its ingredients locally wherever possible and last year over 17,200 British and Irish farmers supplied ingredients for the menu items. In fact over 70 percent of the annual food spend is with suppliers from the British Isles. Where McDonald's can't buy ingredients from the UK the ingredients are bought from Europe, and some from farther afield. (Any overseas suppliers of course must meet or exceed the stringent quality standards McDonald's set, as they would if they were from the UK.)
Email this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon
