What’s our most essential ingredient? It’s over 23,000 British and Irish farmers whose quality produce makes your favourites.
<h2><b>Meet the farmers</b></h2>
We use UK organic milk except in our milkshakes, frappes, Iced Latte, McFlurry® desserts, and Chocolate, Banana, and Strawberry flavour milk, and, in Northern Ireland, Flahavan’s Quick Oats and Happy Meal milk.
Helen
Helen is a third-generation beef farmer from Buckinghamshire who supplies McDonald’s with the whole cuts of beef that are used to make our burgers.
Mike
Mike’s family-run dairy farm in Devon helps to supply the organic milk for our teas, coffees and Happy Meal® milk bottles*.
David and Helen
For over 17 years David and Helen’s farm In Cumbria has supplied McDonald’s with some of the delicious free range eggs we freshly crack for every McMuffin®.
Investing in the future of farming
We’ve been working with farmers for decades. And we’re committed to both their futures and the future of farming, which is why we are helping change farming for the better through our Farm Forward programme.
Every year we give up to ten young farmers the chance to spend 12 months getting to know every part of our supply chain, usually during their placement year. They follow our products from the farms we use, through to our restaurants and get the opportunity to work with a number of different suppliers, farmers and stakeholders around the country. The programme also includes mentoring by a farmer who supplies us with beef, chicken, potatoes, pork and dairy. Throughout the placement, Progressive Young Farmers will be expected to actively work on a farm, spend time at McDonald’s UK Head Office in London, and undertake specific projects to gain a better understanding of technical efficiency within the supply chain. The programme focuses on innovation and the future of the farming sector, including animal welfare, beef sustainability and efficient production, ensuring both commercial and environmental areas are addressed.
We know animal welfare is important to you. It’s also a big deal for us. As one of the biggest restaurant chains in the UK, we use our size to make a positive impact on the way animals are treated. We only deal with suppliers who meet our high standards.
We also only use organic semi-skimmed milk from UK and Northern Irish dairy farms for all our teas, coffees and Happy Meal® milk bottles*.
We are committed to looking after nature, from protecting forests to promoting biodiversity and water management. And we are working with our farmers to help them use new technology and the latest research so they can not only protect but also restore nature on their farms.
At McDonald’s UK & Ireland, our ambition is to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 – from farms to restaurants. So we are investing in research and providing support to farmers to help them cut their carbon footprint – because together all the changes we make can add up to a lot.
