Sustainability-0

McDonald’s USA, Syngenta and Lopez Foods Collaborate to Help Grow U.S. Beef Sustainability

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:29:00 GMT

McDonald’s USA, Lopez Foods, a multi-protein producer and long-term supplier to McDonald’s, and Syngenta North America, a leader in agricultural technology, announced that they are collaborating to increase feed efficiency, a move that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions released per pound of meat produced, as part of efforts to improve the overall sustainability of beef production.

The partnership leverages Syngenta’s Enogen^® corn, an exclusive in-seed innovation, shown to increase feed efficiency in cattle and thereby help reduce emissions intensity compared to other corn.

“At Syngenta, we’re convinced improving the sustainability of the global food system can be accelerated through innovation and collaboration,” says Justin Wolfe, President of Syngenta Seeds. “We’re proud of the great attributes of our Enogen^® corn, and how our work can help enable McDonald’s and their beef supply chain to deliver impact.”

“McDonald’s is starting with a priority ingredient for our company – beef,” says Kendra Levine, Director of U.S. Sustainability for McDonald’s. “We believe the innovative collaboration with Syngenta is an opportunity to help us make progress toward our science-based climate targets.”

The science behind Enogen^® corn is an alpha amylase enzyme that quickly converts starch to usable sugars, thus delivering more engergy to cattle while being easily digestible. University research has shown that feeding Enogen^® as silage or grain can improve feed efficiency by about 5%, according to Syngenta.

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) shows potential for environmental savings resulting from this increased efficiency, including lower emissions of greenhouse gases and lower use of land, energy, and water per unit of production.Specific findings show that, per 1,000 head of beef cattle, this collaboration could potentially achieve annual savings of:

196 tons (178 metric tons) CO2e in GHG reduction
69 acre reduction (28 hectare) in land use for growing feed
6 million fewer gallons (22 million liters) of water used
231 thousand kilowatt-hours energy savings

McDonald’s plans to scale this program to help deliver over 164,000 metric tons CO2e per year.

New Milk Sustainability Center Launched by John Deere, DeLaval

Two ag industry powerhouses have announced the launch of the “Milk Sustainability Center,” a collaboration between John Deere and DeLaval.

The Milk Sustainability Center is not a physical place, but rather a “digital ecosystem” that integrates agronomic and animal performance into one unified platform. Its developers say it will help dairy producers enhance efficiency and sustainability while accommodating changing regulations that affect their operations.

“Dairy farmers can use the Milk Sustainability Center to monitor nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) across their farm, herd and fields,” the developers noted. “It collects animal and agronomic data, providing insights to help farmers manage nutrient utilization effectively and reduce the need for manual data input.”

Developed and powered by Dutch technology specialists at Dairy Data Warehouse BV (DDW), the Milk Sustainability Center will serve dairy farmers by integrating their machinery, milking equipment, and herd management software solutions into one platform to reduce the need for manual entry. The cloud-based platform folds together the agronomic data from the John Deere Operations Center^™ and the animal data from the DeLaval system, allowing consultants such as nutritionists and agronomists to provide more wholistic recommendations to the farmer.

The Milk Sustainability Center is currently available at no cost to an initial group of dairy farmers in the United States, Netherlands, and Germany, with plans to expand to other countries. John Deere and DeLaval invite interested dairy farmers in these areas to join the waiting list. As farmers are onboarded, the benefits of the Milk Sustainability Center will be extended to other farmers on the waiting list. For more information or to join the waiting list, visit milksustainabilitycenter.com or contact inquiries@milksustainabilitycenter.com .

U.S. Animal Ag Contributes to All 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals

The Animal Agriculture Alliance released a new report detailing U.S. animal agriculture’s contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Raising animals for food is at the heart of healthy, sustainable communities and healthy, sustainable diets. Generations of farmers and ranchers have put the health and well-being of animals first, while also caring for the land and its natural resources to ensure a viable future. In doing so, they have continued to provide nutrient-dense foods that cannot easily be replaced,” Animal Agriculture Alliance said in a release.

U.S. animal agriculture is actively contributing toward all 17 of the SDGs, including Zero Hunger, Decent Work and Economic Growth and Climate Action, the report shows. The SDGs will be a central focus of the U.N.’s annual climate change conference, COP29, that is being held now through Nov. 22.

“The U.S. animal agriculture community is a world leader in sustainability efforts and has a proven track record of continued progress in environmental stewardship, food security, and more. Meat, dairy, poultry, eggs and seafood are at the heart of healthy, sustainable diets, playing a vital role in meeting nutritional demands and closing gaps in nutrient deficiencies,” Animal Agriculture Alliance said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has concluded that, “Livestock serves as a crucial source of high-quality protein and essential micronutrients, and is vital for normal development and good health.”

The report highlights many examples of contributions being made toward each goal, including these:

• No Poverty (SDG 1): U.S. food and agriculture is an economic driver, providing 22.1 million jobs supporting local families and communities.

• Zero Hunger (SDG 2): Meat, dairy, poultry, eggs, and seafood play a pivotal role in healthy, balanced diets. The U.S. dairy community alone is supplying enough protein for 169 million people, calcium for 254 million people, and energy for 71.2 million people.

• Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3): Animal-based foods are great sources of many essential nutrients – some of which are best and sometimes only found in meat, dairy, poultry, eggs, and seafood. These foods can also support weight management, satiety, physical fitness, and overall health.

• Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7): The U.S. animal agriculture community is always looking for new ways to innovate, including projects to recycle manure from the farm and convert it into renewable energy.

• Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8): The agriculture and food sector provides employment to 10.4% of the working population in the U.S., equating to roughly 22 million jobs for Americans. Agriculture, food, and related industries contributed approximately $1.53 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, making up 6.5% of the share.

• Climate Action (SDG 13): Although incredible progress towards climate change efforts has already been made, the U.S. animal agriculture community remains committed to furthering that progress, including several pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Alliance notes it received a badge to participate in COP29 discussions, which has been shared with the Protein PACT to engage on behalf of animal agriculture.

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