By all accounts, McDonalds is the most-popular burger business in the country. The Big Mac, the chain’s most famous burger, is hands down the best-selling and most-loved burger on a menu in the U.S. S. , according to the Big Mac Museum.
The chain sells almost 6. 5 million burgers per day and about 4,500 every minute—which is a whole lot of meat to source. So how does it get from the farm to the drive-thru? Read on to find out.
McDonald’s is the world’s largest fast food chain, serving over 68 million customers daily in over 100 countries Their signature burger, the Big Mac, is one of the most iconic burgers ever created But with so many locations worldwide, how much beef does McDonald’s go through on a daily basis? The numbers are simply staggering.
Massive Beef Consumption
McDonald’s is easily the largest purchaser of beef worldwide. In the United States alone, they purchase over 1 billion pounds of beef per year – that’s around 3-4 million pounds per day! And to put that into perspective, that’s enough beef for around 5.5 million cattle annually.
Just let those numbers sink in for a minute. McDonald’s uses millions of pounds of beef every single day to satisfy their customers’ desire for quick and tasty burgers. This beef is coming from a huge supply chain of ranchers, meat processors, and distributors coordinated by the fast food giant
Why So Much Beef?
There are a couple key reasons why McDonald’s requires so much beef:
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Massive number of locations – With over 36,000 restaurants worldwide, the collective amount of beef needed is gigantic. Even though beef usage varies across franchises, the total quantity is still huge.
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Popularity of beef items – Beef is the star of McDonald’s menu. Their burgers especially the Big Mac account for a large percentage of sales. McDonald’s sells 75+ burgers globally every second!
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Convenience & affordability – Customers love being able to quickly get a satisfying burger meal at an affordable price. McDonald’s has mastered fast and consistent beef burger preparation.
So between the high demand for beef, convenience, and affordability, McDonald’s needs to procure beef in incredible quantities to meet expectations.
(Mostly) American Beef
The majority of beef purchased by McDonald’s comes from cattle raised in the United States. Over 85% of the restaurants are located in the US, so it makes sense that most beef comes from domestic ranches and suppliers. However, they do source beef from other major cattle countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Latin America.
To obtain beef in the quantities they require, McDonald’s utilizes centralized processing plants. Meat from cattle is delivered to these facilities where it is processed into the ingredients for McDonald’s burger patties. The beef is then distributed to regional and national distributors that supply the restaurant franchises. This centralized, streamlined system allows McDonald’s to get beef out quickly while maintaining consistency.
Is This Beef Usage Sustainable?
The environmental impact of intensive beef production and transport is substantial. With more attention being paid to sustainability, McDonald’s beef utilization rates have come under scrutiny.
In response, McDonald’s has set targets to improve sustainability across their supply chain. Some efforts include:
- Source beef raised on verified sustainable ranches
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in processing and transport
- Partner with environmental groups on sustainable beef initiatives
- Explore alternative protein options to diversify menu
While McDonald’s has made strides, more progress is still required to reduce beef’s environmental footprint. But providing billions of burgers globally using beef is engrained in their business, so significant changes to scale back beef will take time.
Satisfying Burger Cravings
It’s simply astonishing how much beef passes through McDonald’s kitchens every day – millions of pounds to satisfy the cravings of millions of customers daily. The convenience and tastiness of McDonald’s signature burgers drives these incredible beef volumes. Moving forward, the company does need to continue improving sustainability considering the large quantities of beef utilized across the fast food empire. But for now, McDonald’s will keep the beefy burgers coming to please their carnivorous customer base.
Some have concerns about this meat and the treatment of animals.
A famous billionaire investor named Carl Icahn recently criticized the burger chain for how it treats animals. Icahn has fought for similar animal rights causes in the past.
CNN reported just days ago that Icahn sent a scorching letter to investors saying that McDonalds is “failing” investors and misleading the public about the companys animal welfare policies related to how its pork supply is sourced.
The use of “gestation crates,” which are very small stalls where pregnant sows are kept and can’t move around much, in the company’s pork supply chain is specifically at issue.
CNN reports that McDonald’s said in February of this year that they would stop using the crates completely by 2024.
But Icahn said that the companys claim that most of its U. S. pork doesnt come from sows housed in gestation crates was a “cynical fabrication. “.
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.” They also said that Icahn’s demands to get rid of crates would make costs go up a lot, which would hurt all parts of their business, their supply chain, and their customers. “.
The company also said that it couldn’t meet its previously set goals for animal welfare because of problems caused by the pandemic and a “devastating swine fever.” ” Icahn called these “poor excuses. “.
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Where’s McDonald’s meat from?
Information supplied by McDonalds 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, McDonalds 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 known for creating the individual quick-freezing method that keeps the taste and texture of its famous burgers when they are frozen. McDonalds also says it partnered with Keystone in developing its wildly popular Chicken McNuggets.
Asked generally about the quality of its meat, McDonalds 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 McDonalds burgers are made isnt a well-guarded secret. In fact, a Business Insider report from one of McDonalds 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.
McDonalds: Behind the Scenes of the Menu | Good Morning America | ABC News
FAQ
How much beef does McDonalds use in one day?
How many pounds of beef does McDonalds use per year?
How much beef is actually in a McDonalds burger?
How many beef patties does McDonalds sell a day?
How much beef does McDonalds eat a year?
In the United States alone, people eat over 1 billion pounds of beef at McDonald’s in a year, which is 5½ million head of cattle. McDonalds Corporation sells over 1 billion cups of coffee each year around the world. It sells 500 million cups a day in the U.S. alone. McDonald’s opens a new restaurant every four hours.
How much beef does McDonald’s buy a year?
E ach year, McDonald’s buys as much as 1.9bn lb of beef that it packs into patties for millions of Happy Meals, Quarter Pounders, Big Macs, Triple Cheeseburgers and other popular beefy sandwiches served across the globe.
Does McDonalds use 100% beef?
While McDonalds says it uses 100% Beef in its burgers (now they claim they use 100% Canadian Beef in Canada) it in fact buys meat from a company called 100% Beef. Therefore they can put 100% Beef on their packages, advertising, etc. This create a sort of “loophole” that fools the general public.
How many cups of coffee does McDonalds sell a day?
McDonalds Corporation sells over 1 billion cups of coffee each year around the world. It sells 500 million cups a day in the U.S. alone. McDonald’s opens a new restaurant every four hours. McDonald’s is the nation’s largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes. It is the second largest purchaser of chicken.