Calling all McDonald’s fans, your favorite fast food stop is evolving for the better with exciting new collaborations to bring you more sustainable options, plus a pastel makeover for the holidays.
That’s right, beyond introducing new menu items and bringing back their classics, McDonald’s is also focusing on improving food sustainability and elevating its packaging design to enhance its marketing appeal. But most importantly, the chain is pushing to be more kinder to the environment and to the health of their customers.
It’s undeniable that McDonald’s is one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world. As much as they’re nostalgic, they had their fair share of highlights and controversies. But one thing is for sure: They’re pushing to be better as a company by adapting to the times and their customers’ preferences. I’m sure it’s the same thing with other chains, so they definitely got competition. If you’re one of McDonald’s regulars, then here’s the latest news that you might want to know, so read on.
Sustainable Hamburgers with Syngenta
Hamburgers are one of McDonald’s most popular menu items. Of course, they’re always looking for ways to keep it as it is by introducing new menu twists and improving its quality. Speaking of improvement, McDonald’s is bringing something new to the table with the help of Lopez Foods and Syngenta. Their mission is to reduce the climate impact of McDonald’s hamburgers through a collaboration with meat supplier Lopez Foods and the agrichemical giant Syngenta.
How would this work? Well, here is a bitesize information for you to understand the process better. McDonald’s and Lopez Foods will make use of Syngenta’s special type of corn called Enogen as animal feed.
The partnership is expected to cut McDonald’s hamburger’s pollution waste by a large amount each year, and this is equal to about 164,000 metric tons of emissions. The best part? It will help save water, energy, and land resources. The ranchers who are also working at Lopez Foods will get to receive incentives for using the corn as animal feed as they were instructed.
McDonald’s is the first-ever large food company to partner up with Syngenta and participate in the company’s Feed Forward Program, as it aims to address climate change through animal feed innovations from supply chains. We can expect this exciting new innovation from other companies as Syngenta is also discussing possible partnerships with them.
What Are Enogen Corns?
Enogen is a special type of corn used as a feed for dairy and beef cattle. It contains an enzyme that transforms starch into energy-rich sugars, so as a result, it’s easily digestible by animals. Studies show that corn can improve how efficiently cattle use their feed by about 5%, which can lead to environmental benefits if they’re used widely.
Marty Matlock, Executive Director of the University of Arkansas Resiliency Center, who conducted the assessment in 2021, said that to an average person, 5% may not be seen as significant when feeding cattle. She added that it actually makes a big difference when it is applied to the whole beef industry, which has about tens of millions of cattle. Understanding where environmental impacts happen during the production process is the key to making the system sustainable.
The Collaboration’s Systematic Plan
With all that being said, imagine this: If about 1,000 beef cattle were to be fed Enogen through McDonald’s collaboration, it could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 196 tons per year, as stated in the release. Not only that, the move could actually open up dozens of acres of land to grow other needed crops on an annual basis while the need for water and energy is reduced. That’s one key to saving our natural resources!
Ranchers will also benefit from this special collaboration as they will earn daily incentives for each animal that they feed Enogen, given that they follow the instructions expected of them. This would include making Enogen half of the starch of an animal’s diet at their time in the feed yard for the given number of days.
The collaborations will take place this Fall, with plans to harvest the Enogen grains by next year and feed them to the cattle by 2026. Payouts, on the other hand, will roll out in 2027 when the targets have been reached. Although it may be a long time until our hamburgers become sustainable, this is huge news for McDonald’s USA and for the environment, of course! They need to make sure that they grow the crops first to be able to successfully launch them into the customer’s palate.
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McDonald’s x Doodles
Holidays at McDonald’s are about to turn pastel, and I’m McLovin’ it! We’ve seen every brand collaborate with this fast food powerhouse and we never missed a single one of it. Now, McDonald’s will put to rest their iconic red and yellow branding for a little while to welcome the pastel colors that we’ll be seeing on their cups this holiday season.
McDonald’s and Web-3 native brand Doodles revealed a collaboration waiting to happen last Thursday. It features limited-edition McCafé custom cups that show the Ethereum NFT collection’s hand-drawn Doodles. As part of the collaboration, customers will be able to unlock digital collectibles and contents, as well as all access to its co-branded physical merchandise.
The campaign is called “GM Spread Joy,” which is a marketing initiative inspired by the popular phrase on Crypto Twitter. This exciting collaboration will be made available for customers in the U.S. in about 13,500 McDonald’s locations.
Part of this collaboration allows McDonald’s customers to access the track produced by Pharell Williams called “Good Mornin,” which is sung by artist Marley Bleu. Williams, who worked at McDonald’s before, was inspired by viral GM memes and the internet culture to create the song.
Doodles and McDonald’s History
A little information about the Doodles character line: Since NFT rules are less strict outside the U.S., McDonald’s has collaborated with them to promote the purple mascot, Grimace. In the collaboration, they created a metaverse game called “My Happy Place.”
The recent Doodles collaboration is a big step towards the NFT space of McDonald’s USA since it last unveiled the McRib-inspired NFTs back in 2021. It was noted that McDonald’s was actually an early adopter of digital assets as a way to reward their customers and show brand loyalty.
In case you don’t know what Doodles is, it’s a collection of 10,000 profile pictures created by the artist Scott “Burnt Toast” Martin. The entire collection’s worth is about 20,296 ETH or $64 million. The least expensive one can be found on the resale market, priced at 2 ETH or $6,300. Since McDonald’s hinted at the collaboration on X, the price of the cheapest Doodle went up to 2.7 ETH or $8,500 earlier this week.
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From The Club
McDonald’s collaboration with Enogen and Lopez Foods is a reminder that every step we take and every action we make produces gas emissions that harm the environment. So yes, even the way hamburgers are produced and served to you releases gas emissions. It’s a good thing that McDonald’s stepped up even if it takes a few years before they can fully market their sustainable hamburgers. As for the Doodles Cup collaboration, I was captivated by the pastel colors and Doodles designed on the cup, and it suddenly opened me to the world of cryptocurrency.