Industry | 2010.01.09
McDonald's seeks to cut cows' methane emissions
Three-year study by burger giant aims to reduce pollution from flatulent livestock
McDonald\'s has long been the butt of jokes about what goes into its burgers, but now it is to spend thousands of pounds investigating what comes out of its beef cows.
The fast food chain, which uses beef from 350,000 cattle a year for its burger meat, is to conduct a three-year study into methane emissions from cattle on 350 farms across Britain. Gas produced by flatulent livestock accounts for 4% of the UK\'s total carbon emissions. It is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse agent.
The company\'s announcement comes after the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, called for the food industry to look at ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the government\'s 2030 food strategy, which was unveiled last week.
A study carried out in America in 2006 calculated that producing a single cheeseburger involves the emission of around 3.1kg of carbon dioxide.
"This ground-breaking project will help drive further reductions in our beef supply chain," Steve Easterbrook, chief executive of McDonald\'s UK, told the Observer . "At the same time it should also deliver real financial benefits to the farmer."
The initiative will be the first of its kind to provide accurate data from working farms and is being run by the E-CO 2 Project, an independent rural consultancy and energy-auditing company. A sophisticated greenhouse gas calculator accredited by the Carbon Trust will measure results over a three-year period. The first readings are due in April and specialist consultants will advise farmers on the best ways to reduce emissions and increase efficiency. If successful, the initiative will be extended to McDonald\'s in Europe.
The scheme is expected to have ramifications beyond the fast-food industry. Although McDonald\'s buys beef from more than 16,000 British and Irish farmers, its restaurants use only the forequarter and flank in burgers. Other retailers and butchers that use different cuts from the same animal will benefit from the same greenhouse gas reductions.
The scheme is part of a broader attempt by Easterbrook to rebrand McDonald\'s in the UK as a more socially aware and environmentally friendly organisation. He became chief executive in 2005, when the company was reeling from the negative publicity generated by Morgan Spurlock\'s 2004 film, Super Size Me .
Spurlock ate only McDonald\'s food for 30 days and put on almost two stone. His cholesterol level shot up. According to Easterbrook, 42, the film was "absurd… it was a foolish thing to do. Don\'t do it. Don\'t eat a McDonald\'s three times a day, 30 days a month."
McDonald\'s employs more than 80,000 people in the UK, more than half of whom are under 21. An apprenticeship scheme was introduced this month and staff can work towards nationally approved qualifications equivalent to GCSE or A-level.
Easterbrook has met the prime minister and senior Tories to talk about its expansion. "Gordon Brown was actively engaged and seemed very interested," said Easterbrook. "Effectively, it is about how young people, when they come out of education, can be more workplace-ready."
However much work he might have done to make McDonald\'s appear more socially aware, questions still remain. As the father of three daughters, all under 12, does Easterbrook have any qualms about the company\'s attempts to market directly to children, with the inclusion of a free toy in the McDonald\'s Happy Meal, for instance?
"No, not at all. I mean the reality is I wouldn\'t do the job if I didn\'t feel it was a good job to do, whether I\'ve got children or not."
Two years ago McDonald\'s was advertising on report cards of American primary school pupils. Isn\'t that problematic? "We\'ve got pretty clear rules through Ofcom here anyway," he replied, pointing out that McDonald\'s in the US is run separately. "We don\'t get involved in schools at all unless we\'re invited."
Does he accept that McDonald\'s is partly responsible for rising levels of obesity? "I think that would be far too simplistic. There\'s a huge range of factors over the last 20 to 30 years that have caused society to change," he said.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20[...]nalds-methane-emissions-cattle
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