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McDonald's visits with Central Texas cattlemen |
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By MANDY JOHN | Central Texas Edition |
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September 19, 2002 -- The McDonald's corporation reached out to Central Texas cattle producers to give important information on current consumer trends and to get producer input when McDonald's representative John Hays held a special information session September 9, 2002 at the Texas Farm Bureau in Waco. Hays has been addressing McDonald's beef-buying strategies with cattlemen from around the country. "We are the number one purchaser of beef in the United States," Hays said. "We are totally dependent on you, the farmer. What we find most distressing, though, is the lack of understanding on how important agriculture is to McDonald's. We have always known that the American consumer is buying our products through the farmer." McDonald's recently came under fire by U.S. cattlemen for its plan of utilizing more beef from outside the U.S. - primarily from Australia and New Zealand. "McDonald's stands firm on the belief that we must invest in the communities we build in and around. Food safety is also number one at McDonald's. Our first choice and our best choice is to buy U.S. products. We have a commitment to the U.S. agriculture industry to help keep it going strong." "The environment is going through a tough time right now," he added. "There are still questions on the survival of U.S. agriculture that have yet to be answered." "I am not here today to change your minds or to tell you how to think. I am just here to give you the facts about McDonald's and the different methods we use to find out what the consumer wants in order to meet their needs." Hays went on to give the history of the McDonald's products. "In the past we have processed over 10 million animals (annually). Today, though, we only process between 5.4 to 5.5 million animals. We use 60 percent cull cow beef grindings and 40 percent fed beef. We have discovered that there is a new demand for cull cow products." "We are also trying to understand the current consumer trends developing. There seems to be a change in the consumer. Fifty percent of red meat is now consumed in grindings." He added, "We have found that the consumer wants their meat to be 85 to 90 percent lean because they believe that it is healthier for them and are given the understanding that if they eat lean meat they will live forever. The problem is that people want this meat even though it has no flavor. What we know and what you know is that in order for the meat to have flavor, it must have something other than lean meat." "What we are also seeing is tremendous change in both what the consumer wants and how that is affecting the number of animal products purchased. This is making it a tough sell for us to reach out to the consumer. We are constantly looking at consumer wants and the new ways they are getting it. Consumers are now even buying modified product packaged meat in supermarkets." "The issue at hand is not about more import beef coming into the U.S., it's about what is already in the U.S. We have purchased approximately $185 million-worth of agricultural products. At the moment, the cost of products has been raised 25 percent more than five years ago." "We are also going through a change in supply and demand that has caused us to look at the United States differently. There are approximately 400 restaurants in the Southeast United States. We know that the first choice and the best choice is purchasing U.S. products, but we need to break down barriers in the U.S. to cover McDonald's around the world. By doing this, we are helping to bring your product with us to these other countries. At the current moment, we also buy products from both Australia and New Zealand." Hays stated that 25 percent of the McDonald's hamburger that you eat is foreign beef mixed with U.S. beef. He also said, "What we won't do is what some lesser chains do, which is claim that our meat is 100 percent U.S. beef when it's not." |
