OSI, the huge global food processor and major supplier to McDonald’s, held its European sustainability summit in Ireland this week. OSI Europe’s managing director, Kevin Cahill, formerly of Kepak, opened the summit with a welcome to Ireland when it looked at its absolute best.

Importance of beef

While McDonald’s has a wide-ranging menu, its core product remains beef burgers of various types. Given the negative image beef has in the context of GHG production and dependence of the company on consumers continuing their love affair with the Big Mac, it is unsurprising that the company is at the forefront of tackling sustainable production in its supply chain.

Keith Kenny, who is the McDonald’s VP in charge of sustainability, explained that they have 37,000 restaurants in 100 countries and 69m customers each day. He explained that taste, convenience, and trust are the one, two three drivers of footfall, followed by value and quality, and that consumers have a general distrust of big business.

That is why he said that shared value and trust is built into the McDonald's business plan, in which there are four priorities: beef sustainability, commitment to family, packaging and recycling.

As the biggest buyer of beef in the world, they are committed to recycling 100% of packaging by 2025, and have a target for suppliers to achieve a 31% reduction per tonne of GHG emissions by 2030.

Panel discussion

In a panel discussion, which included Bord Bia chief executive Tara McCarthy, it was put to Keith Kenny that their core burger product was vulnerable to the negative campaign targeted towards beef production and consumption. He was frank in his response, saying that while alternatives to meat could well get on the menu in some places, he was confident beef would remain a core product offering.

Keith Kenny said that the story of sustainable beef production had not been well told and he was confident that the industry in the not too distant future could flip the current debate on ruminant livestock being major contributors to the production of GHGs.

He said that they were sponsoring work in USA on the carbon sequestration benefits of paddock grazing. On 50 ranches, results so far are massive and he believes that in a couple of years they can flip the GHG story.

OSI is a huge buyer of meat for burgers on the island of Ireland and if it was a country it would be the second-biggest customer by volume after Britain. OSI is the world's leading supplier of burgers to McDonald's.

WD Meats from Coleraine was announced as the UK supplier of the year, while Paul Armstrong from the Foyle Group was presented with personality of the year.