After thousands of Aussies called out the fast food giant, McDonald’s has committed to only sourcing deforestation-free beef. But McDonald’s will only do this by 2030, 5 years later than what’s urgently needed.
Last month, McDonald’s quietly updated its Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems policy online, committing to eliminate deforestation and address conversion of natural ecosystems in its global supply chain by 2030.
The move follows months of public pressure by Greenpeace’s “Take Deforestation off the Menu” campaign, which included the launch of the satirical ‘koala burger’.
A key part of the campaign was the dozens of activist koalas across the country who visited their local Macca’s restaurants to demand that McDonald’s take deforestation off the menu.
While McDonald’s commitment is a step in the right direction, an implementation date of 2030 is 5 years later than what is desperately needed for our forests and wildlife.
“While McDonald’s has made a strong commitment to eliminate deforestation and address conversion of other natural ecosystems in its supply chain, its deadline of 2030 is five years too late.”
– Gemma Plesman, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific
McDonald’s is one of Australia’s biggest beef buyers. Australian beef supplies about 65% of McDonald’s stores worldwide, meaning people around the world could be eating burgers from a threatened koala habitat that was bulldozed for beef production.
Every day between now and 2030 means more forests lost, wildlife displaced, and damage to our planet.
By bringing forward the deadline to 2025 instead of 2030, McDonald’s could help prevent irreversible harm and lead the way for the entire beef industry to act faster.
And we know it’s possible! Recently, supermarket giant Woolworths made a similar deforestation commitment, with an implementation date of December 2025.
The forests team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific will continue to engage with McDonald’s to ensure they commit to taking deforestation off the menu – by 2025!