I’m lovin’ it! Sourcing sustainable beef in McDonald’s Europe

East Finchley, a twenty minute tube ride north of central London, is home to McDonald's UK head office. This is where I am currently working on a five-month placement on the McDonald’s Europe Sustainability team, as part of the Origin Green Ambassador Programme. Now entering the final month of the placement, as the McDonald’s advertising slogan goes, I’m lovin’ it!

Having grown up on a dairy farm in Kill near Naas in Co. Kildare, I have always been involved in farming and interested in agriculture.

My placement in McDonald's provides me with the opportunity to see what sustainability means to the decision-makers in McDonald’s. It also allows me to spread the word throughout McDonald’s of the exceptional work Irish farmers and food companies are doing and how Ireland can be the country of choice in terms of sourcing high quality, sustainable food and drink.

From conversations I have had at all levels in McDonald’s, it is clear that the image of Irish food and drink is one of high quality and natural produce. Bord Bia and the quality assurance scheme are highly regarded in McDonald’s.

McDonald’s continuously strives to make its business more sustainable. For example, the SAI (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative) Platform, an industry group committed to making progress in agricultural sustainability, has a ‘Beef Working Group’ which McDonald’s currently chair. Bord Bia is also an active member of this group. McDonald’s has also made a global commitment to begin sourcing ‘verified sustainable beef’ by 2016.

This promise is central to my work in McDonald’s. My main project is to help develop practices that enable beef farmers to produce beef in a way which maximises the economic sustainability of beef farming, is environmentally sustainable, and considers the social impacts of the farm, such as treatment of employees and animal welfare.

The importance of McDonald’s to the Irish food and drink industry is immense. Ireland punches above its weight in terms of a source of beef for McDonald’s, with large volumes of its beef requirements coming from Irish farms. McDonald’s Ireland only use Irish beef, while McDonald’s UK use only British and Irish beef. Origin Green aims to ensure that Irish beef retains this importance on the menu at McDonald's.

The Irish presence in London is very evident. St. Patrick’s weekend saw Trafalgar Square transformed into a celebration of Irish music, dance and food. There are many hurling and Gaelic football clubs all over London and an Irish accent can be heard on almost every street in London. The recent and historic first presidential visit by Michael D. Higgins further strengthens and illustrates the friendly relationship which exists between Irish and British people. The President’s itinerary included a visit to a research farm in Oxford where three other Origin Green Ambassadors, who are also currently based in the UK, and I got the opportunity to meet with him. Bord Bia CEO, Aidan Cotter also made a presentation on Origin Green.

As one of ten Origin Green Ambassadors, my role is to promote awareness of Origin Green, which demonstrates the sustainability of the Irish food and drink industry at both farm and manufacturing level.

Visit www.origingreen.ie to learn more.

*Philip Cocoman is originally from a dairy farm in Kill near Naas in Co. Kildare.