Hold the beef! McDonald’s is just one of many fast food chains that need to cut beef consumption. They should replace beef with more sustainable meat like chicken.
The article suggests McDonald’s is greenwashing.
Quote: << In recent years, the company announced big sustainability initiatives but climate experts who reviewed McDonald’s plans and data say the fast-food company is largely dodging the one bold step it must take to slash emissions: dramatically reducing the amount of beef it serves.
“The naked truth is McDonald’s is in a business that is fundamentally at odds with the Earth’s integrity,” said Gidon Eshel, … >>
<< And a recent study found the world’s food system accounts for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, with the beef industry comprising as much as 25% of that figure.
Beef is particularly problematic because cows release high levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in their burps and manure. The amount of feed, water and land that cows require to produce a pound of meat is much higher than other animals, and that inflates their carbon footprint. Raising cows exacts a “multidimensional burden” on the Earth, Eshel said, because the industry also pollutes, consumes water and spurs deforestation. >>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/10/mcdonalds-emissions-beef-burgers