Where's McDonald's meat from?
Information supplied by McDonald's USA says that the company "partners with a global network of suppliers and farmers to provide quality ingredients and packaging materials."
The website goes even further and names Oklahoma City-based Lopez Foods as a key supplier of beef, pork, and chicken to the chain since 1968.
In addition, McDonald's points to Philadelphia-based Keystone Foods as a major meat supplier providing the chain with more than 150 million pounds of beef, 300 million pounds of chicken, and 15 million pounds of fish each year.
Keystone is also credited with developing the individual quick-freezing process that allows its famous burgers to be frozen in a way that retains both taste and texture. McDonald's also says it partnered with Keystone in developing its wildly popular Chicken McNuggets.
Asked generally about the quality of its meat, McDonald's USA says "Our burgers are made only with 100% USDA inspected beef. There are no preservatives or fillers in our patties and the only thing ever added is a touch of salt and pepper on the grill. And our Quarter Pounder burgers are made from 100% fresh beef patties in the US."
The process by which McDonald's burgers are made isn't a well-guarded secret. In fact, a Business Insider report from one of McDonald's largest meat processing facilities in Germany said that shipments of beef are checked for purity before being ground up in a large meat grinder. The patties are then machine shaped. Once made, the burgers are then individually quick-frozen and packed into plastic bags and boxes before being shipped off to restaurants in the U.S. and beyond.
Some have concerns about this meat and the treatment of animals.
However, the burger giant has recently come under fire for its animal welfare policies by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has championed similar animal welfare causes in the past.
CNN reported just days ago that Icahn sent a scorching letter to investors saying that McDonald's is "failing" investors and misleading the public about the company's animal welfare policies related to how its pork supply is sourced.
Specifically at issue is the use of "gestation" crates which are very small stalls where pregnant sows are held and their movements highly restricted in the company's pork supply chain.
McDonald's had promised in February of this year to completely phase out the use of the crates by 2024, according to CNN.
But Icahn said that the company's claim that most of its U.S. pork doesn't come from sows housed in gestation crates was a "cynical fabrication."
In response, McDonald's told CNN, "While the company looks forward to promoting further collaboration across the industry on this issue, the current pork supply in the US would make this type of commitment impossible," adding that Icahn's demands to eliminate the use of crates would significantly increase costs, "placing a burden on all aspects of our business, our supply chain and McDonald's customers."
Further, the company said that its inability to meet previously stated animal welfare targets was a result of challenges from the pandemic as well as a "devasting swine fever." Icahn called these "poor excuses."
In addition, McDonald's points to Philadelphia-based Keystone Foods as a major meat supplier providing the chain with more than 150 million pounds of beef, 300 million pounds of chicken, and 15 million pounds of fish each year.
Keystone is also credited with developing the individual quick-freezing process that allows its famous burgers to be frozen in a way that retains both taste and texture. McDonald's also says it partnered with Keystone in developing its wildly popular Chicken McNuggets.
Asked generally about the quality of its meat, McDonald's USA says "Our burgers are made only with 100% USDA inspected beef. There are no preservatives or fillers in our patties and the only thing ever added is a touch of salt and pepper on the grill. And our Quarter Pounder burgers are made from 100% fresh beef patties in the US."
The process by which McDonald's burgers are made isn't a well-guarded secret. In fact, a Business Insider report from one of McDonald's largest meat processing facilities in Germany said that shipments of beef are checked for purity before being ground up in a large meat grinder. The patties are then machine shaped. Once made, the burgers are then individually quick-frozen and packed into plastic bags and boxes before being shipped off to restaurants in the U.S. and beyond.
Some have concerns about this meat and the treatment of animals.
However, the burger giant has recently come under fire for its animal welfare policies by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has championed similar animal welfare causes in the past.
CNN reported just days ago that Icahn sent a scorching letter to investors saying that McDonald's is "failing" investors and misleading the public about the company's animal welfare policies related to how its pork supply is sourced.
Specifically at issue is the use of "gestation" crates which are very small stalls where pregnant sows are held and their movements highly restricted in the company's pork supply chain.
McDonald's had promised in February of this year to completely phase out the use of the crates by 2024, according to CNN.
But Icahn said that the company's claim that most of its U.S. pork doesn't come from sows housed in gestation crates was a "cynical fabrication."
In response, McDonald's told CNN, "While the company looks forward to promoting further collaboration across the industry on this issue, the current pork supply in the US would make this type of commitment impossible," adding that Icahn's demands to eliminate the use of crates would significantly increase costs, "placing a burden on all aspects of our business, our supply chain and McDonald's customers."
Further, the company said that its inability to meet previously stated animal welfare targets was a result of challenges from the pandemic as well as a "devasting swine fever." Icahn called these "poor excuses."
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