MCDONALD’S: THE FOOTPRINTS OF A GIANT

MCDONALD’S: THE FOOTPRINTS OF A GIANT

McDonald’s lists beef, chicken – and soy used in animal feed – coffee, palm oil, fish and vegetable fibres – for packaging – as priority products for social and environmental control purposes. In these sectors, they set a series of criteria and specific actions to monitor their supply chain. Despite these policies, the company’s supply chain is exposed to several risks of violations related to Brazil’s rural reality. Deforestation, slave labour, violations of labour laws, and damage to traditional communities are part of the risks directly or indirectly linked to the network that supplies their restaurants. A considerable part of these impacts involves precisely products considered by McDonald’s as priorities for social and environmental control purposes. But not only those. Other sectors also face challenges to ensure fair and responsible agriculture. In this report, Repórter Brasil lists concrete examples of risks of violations associated with three items on the fast-food chain’s menus around the world: beef, coffee and orange juice. In addition, the investigation also addresses soy, used to make the feed given to McDonald’s chickens.

Area of focus: Coffee

Author(s): André Campos, Poliana Dallabrida

Organisation/institution: Monitor