McDonalds unveils commitments to British farming in build up to London 2012 Olympic Games

McDonalds will today announce how it will use the London 2012 Olympic Games to boost British agriculture.

In a programme to be outlined to farming leaders, the company will commit to raise awareness of the key role British farms will play in providing produce for the Olympic Games, and to promote the very best practice in standards and welfare that those farms demonstrate.

As a first step, McDonalds will throw open the gates to some of the British and Irish farms that supply its menu and which will also provide meals for athletes, organisers and spectators at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Members of the public will be able to see firsthand the farms that will supply quality British and Irish produce for what is the biggest peacetime catering operation in the world in two years time.

In addition, McDonalds will:

• Formally share best practice from farms supplying the Olympics with the rest of the farming community
• Feature farms supplying the Olympics in national television advertising
• Continue to support agricultural shows and awards that reward and recognise the best
• Work with a range of organisations to use the Olympic Games as a global shop window for British and Irish produce

McDonalds UK Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook will announce the measures at the Olympic Park today (18 May) at an event attended by LOCOG Chair Seb Coe, LOCOGs Food Advisory Group, Olympic athlete and 2009 World Champion gymnast Beth Tweddle, senior figures from the world of agriculture and some of the British and Irish farmers who supply McDonalds.

Steve Easterbrook will say:

More British and Irish farmers will be supplying the London 2012 Olympic Games than people might have realised. We spend over 490 million a year on food, much of which comes from the UK and Ireland, including quality produce like organic milk, free range eggs and beef from more than 17,500 farmers. These farmers supply our restaurants today and will continue to do so for the Olympics.

The London 2012 Olympic Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate the best of British farming. McDonalds will use its involvement in the Games to show what British farming has to offer. The farms supplying the Olympics are standard bearers in terms of exacting quality and welfare standards and we will promote the best back to all within the farming community.

Opening up some of the farms that supply our restaurants today and will proudly continue to do so for the Olympics is a first step in this journey. We want people to see the pride they take in growing and rearing high quality produce. Our aim is to contribute to further improvements in the quality of produce, to strengthen those businesses and help secure a stronger farming sector.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe will say:

We want to enhance everyones experience of the Games by celebrating the great diversity and quality of British food on offer. The sheer scale of providing 14 million meals in just four weeks means this is a genuine opportunity for British agriculture. The strong partnerships McDonalds has built with British agriculture will help us deliver the food vision we have set out for the Games and help us deliver an Olympic legacy for farming.

Peter Kendall, President of the National Farmers Union, will say:

The scale and reach of the London 2012 Olympics Games, coupled with its sourcing standards, is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of quality British food to a domestic and international audience. This shop window will raise the profile of British agriculture, allow it to demonstrate the industrys world leading standards of production and help meet future challenges. Im also grateful to McDonalds for their part in discussions with the farming community on how we can maximise the opportunity.

Richard Hoskin, of Maiden Castle Farm in Dorchester, who has supplied beef into McDonalds Supply Chain for five years, will say:

I think its a great idea to showcase the British farms and farmers that supply the ingredients for McDonalds iconic food. People are often surprised to hear that all the beef is sourced from the British Isles or that each product is tracked and traceable back to the farm they came from. Im proud to be part of the new programme that showcases the quality of the food and the farms it comes from.

Members of the public can enrol for farm visits at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/openfarms. There are five visits scheduled in 2010 in Dorset, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cumbria and Derbyshire, with more to come in 2011.

Examples of McDonalds legacy of support and long term partnership approach for British agriculture include:

• Beef: McDonalds carrying out trials into methods of reducing CO2 emissions associated with the rearing of cattle in over 300 farms across the UK.  This trial is being done in conjunction with the Carbon Trust
• Dairy: The decision to provide organic milk in all our teas and coffees  saw McDonalds take five per cent of the UK supply of organic milk
• Poultry: By only selling British free range eggs McDonalds has made such egg production economically viable and of low environmental impact. In conjunction with its suppliers Noble Foods and The Lakes, as well as Compassion in World Farming and The Food Animal Initiative, it is now developing further improvements in the welfare of the free range laying hens
• Pork: 100% sourced from the UK. McDonalds is working on improvements to pig rearing, which will provide an opportunity for the British pig farming sector to further differentiate their product in an intensely competitive marketplace

Food safety and hygiene

• McDonalds is commitment to delivering consistent quality, cleanliness and service to millions of satisfied visitors, officials and athletes and has done so since becoming an Official Olympic Sponsor in 1976. It started feeding Olympic athletes in Grenoble in 1968.
  • Traceability from farm to front counter every McDonalds ingredient is traced and tracked.

Choice and balance

• McDonalds has increased choice on its menus for example the breakfast options now include porridge, orange juice and bagels and the main menu includes salads.
• McDonalds has been providing nutritional information since 1984. In 2006 McDonalds introduced nutritional information on packaging, as well as on its website and trayliners, to help people make balanced and informed choices.
• Over recent years McDonalds has extended the range of products for different customer groups: we introduced fruit bags and then saw sales of them rise by 13% when we rebranded them as Scooby Doo Snacks, underlining the five-a-day message to children; Our newly introduced Little Tasters range offers smaller menu items for a snack or lighter meal.
• McDonalds has also reformulated many of the recipes on its menu e.g. reduction of salt in many of it core menu items such as Chicken McNuggets by 30% in 2004, reduction of saturated fat content of cooking oil by 35% in 2007 and the elimination of all hydrogenated vegetable oils from the entire menu.

Food sourcing and supply chains

• McDonalds sources 55% of all its produce from the British Isles.
• 100% of McDonalds beef is sourced from more than 16,000 British and Irish farmers.
• 100% of McDonalds pork is sourced from Britain.
• Since 2007, McDonalds has been using British Organic Milk in all of its hot drinks. 100% of the milk used in milkshakes, McFlurrys and bottles is sourced from the British Isles.
• McDonald’s UK uses Hoki fish which is a more ecologically sustainable alternative to cod. This is sourced through Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries, and comes from the seas around New Zealand.
• McDonalds UK uses eggs produced to the Lion Quality Mark, the gold standard in egg production. McDonalds only uses free range eggs all produced from the UK. The eggs are also accredited by the RSPCAs Freedom Food standards and in 2007 the McDonalds won a Compassion In World Farming Good Egg Award.
• McDonalds won the RSPCA Good Business Award in 2008 and again in 2009 for long term commitment in improving animal welfare.
• McDonalds French Fries are made from potatoes grown within the EU the vast majority is grown in the UK.
• McDonalds has launched a new Flagship Farms programme, designed to promote and share the benefits of sustainable agricultural practices via real case studies from real farms in our supply chain.  Developed in conjunction with the Food Animal Initiative (FAI)  – an organisation set up in 1998 in recognition of the fact that commercially robust alternative systems can and do exist – the scheme will showcase the innovative farming practices used, initially at seven progressive farms across Europe via a brand new website. The primary aim is to encourage more dialogue between the farmers who supply McDonalds and to encourage broader adoption across the farming community
• McDonalds Agricultural Assurance Programme (MAAP) was established in 2001 and drives continuous improvements throughout the McDonalds supply chain. Each of McDonalds Flagship Farms demonstrates a high level of compliance with MAAP, with impressive innovations in ethical, environmental or economic farming practices which in many cases exceed the criteria of MAAP.
• McDonalds serves Rainforest Alliance certified coffee.

Environmental management

• McDonalds has been working with third parties like The Carbon Trust to identify carbon reduction opportunities within McDonalds since 2006.
• All McDonalds restaurants have sophisticated building management systems to operate lighting, heating and air conditioning plant all systems have been upgraded to maximise their efficiency.
• Kitchen grills are all fitted with sonic alerts to remind staff to return them to their standby energy saving position after use.
• Low energy lamps are used in all McDonalds restaurants and all new lighting systems have high frequency fittings.
• Light level sensors are installed to automatically control external lighting.
• McDonalds has reduced energy consumption by 6% in the last year by fitting energy saving technology.
• McDonalds recycles all oil from restaurants in a closed loop production whereby oil is converted into biodiesel and used to fuel our delivery trucks.
• McDonalds packaging is designed for minimal wastage and the company reuses delivery packaging wherever possible.
• In certain areas of the UK McDonalds waste that is not recycled can be sent to an energy recovery facility.  McDonalds is currently running successful initiatives in both Sheffield in London which have reduced our carbon emissions in waste management by around 50 per cent.

Skills and education

• McDonalds has a proven track record of training and preparing staff for the numbers of people that will be served at the Games.  
• McDonalds is the industry leader in providing skills and qualifications. All employees have the opportunity to gain qualifications like GCSEs, A-Levels and earlier this year the company also introduced an Apprenticeship in Multi-Skilled Hospitality which now means it is the largest supplier of Apprenticeships in the UK providing around 10,000 per year.
• McDonalds is committed to up-skilling its workforce and offers opportunities for the long-term unemployed through our Local Employment Partnerships programme.  
• McDonalds is an awards winner in the field of skills and employment: This year The Great Places to Work Institute named McDonalds in the UKs Best Workplaces for the 3rd year running, The Times named McDonalds in the Top 100 Graduate Employers Book for the 10th year running, and the company was also listed in the Best Places to Work in Hospitality as run by the Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine.