Cows in pasture

Study aims to show beef is sustainable

Analysis will create a baseline for things like water use and carbon sequestration

Reading Time: 2 minutes Consumers have been asking for it, and now the Canadian beef industry is one step closer to proving its sustainability. “We’re trying to find the impacts — both positive and negative — that come from beef production, from when an animal is born on the ground to when it becomes a kilogram of beef on […] Read more

three men talking on a pasture

McDonald’s ‘sustainable beef’ pilot project ramps up

Alberta visit of McDonald's global CEO signals a sea change in the beef industry

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s full speed ahead for McDonald’s “verified sustainable beef” project. The country’s largest buyer of beef is finishing up the first phase of its groundbreaking pilot project in Canada, and earlier this month the head of the global fast-food giant paid a visit to Alberta to get a first-hand look. Recently appointed CEO Steve Easterbrook […] Read more


herding cattle by horseback

How the ‘verified sustainable beef’ process works

Reading Time: 2 minutes McDonald’s has started verifying producers, as part of its promise to start selling sustainable beef in 2016. Here’s what’s been happening on Alberta farms so far: Earlier this year, McDonald’s said it had a list of 40 “indicators” that will be used to rate a beef operation. The indicators — which cover areas such as […] Read more

McDonald’s in March launched a new “Welcome to McDonald’s” ad campaign in Canada, featuring the chain’s Canadian food suppliers, staff and customers. (Dave Bedard photo)

McDonald’s reset to change structure, cut costs, boost franchises

Reuters — McDonald’s Corp.’s new CEO said on Monday he would reorganize business units, sell restaurants to franchisees and cut costs in a bid to turn the fast-food chain into a “modern, progressive burger company.” The anticipated video announcement by CEO Steve Easterbrook left investors hungry for specific details on how the world’s biggest restaurant […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Guenther: McDonald’s sustainability goals to reach beyond beef

Farmers who want to keep supplying the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant chains can expect more scrutiny of their methods going forward. That’s because the chains’ customers appear to be looking for more sustainably-produced food — so companies such as McDonald’s in turn are looking for third-party verification to prove the ingredients they source make the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

KFC faces pressure after McDonald’s says no antibiotics in chicken

Los Angeles/Chicago | Reuters — KFC, the world’s largest chain of fried chicken restaurants, may face pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald’s said it would switch to chicken raised without human antibiotics. McDonald’s will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics that are important to human health […] Read more

McDonald’s in March launched a new “Welcome to McDonald’s” ad campaign in Canada, featuring the chain’s Canadian food suppliers, staff and customers. (Dave Bedard photo)

McDonald’s vows ‘modern’ makeover amid U.S. sales struggle

Reuters — McDonald’s on Monday vowed to remake itself as a “modern, progressive burger company” after aggressive competition from Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chick-fil-A and myriad “better burger” chains bit into U.S. restaurant sales last month. February ended the run of former CEO Don Thompson. His short tenure included 2014, when falling profit, revenue and traffic […] Read more


(McDonalds.com)

McDonald’s to ‘evaluate’ antibiotic use in Canadian chicken

The Canadian arm of fast-food giant McDonald’s isn’t yet moving to follow its U.S. counterpart’s plans to phase out use of certain antibiotics on chickens in its supply chain. The U.S. chain announced Wednesday it would move, over the next two years, to only purchase chicken “raised without antibiotics that are important to human medicine.” […] Read more

(McDonalds.com)

McDonald’s to phase out human antibiotics from U.S. chicken supply

Reuters — McDonald’s U.S. restaurants will gradually stop buying chicken raised with antibiotics vital to fighting human infections, the most aggressive step by a major food company to change chicken producers’ practices in the fight against dangerous “superbugs.” The world’s biggest restaurant chain announced on Wednesday that within two years, McDonald’s USA will only buy […] Read more