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McDonald’s CEO shares farm visit experience

As McDonald’s Corporation works on their sustainability plans moving forward, president and CEO Don Thompson takes a hands on approach to learning about the animal husbandry practices used by some of their suppliers.

Following his keynote at this weekend’s Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry, Thompson talked about his visit to a beef farm in Ireland.  “Last year, I was over in Ireland with the Minister of Agriculture over there and we visited one of our (McDonald’s) farmers,” he says.  “In that case, we were walking around looking at the cattle and looking at the herd and looking at some of the ways the producer is moving forward and the responsibilities and relationships that the Irish government has with their farmers and NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations). It was pretty special.”

He says they try to utilize those relationships.  “What we’re also trying to do is capture some of those learnings and see if we can help lead some of the countries that don’t have the relationships that they have forward,” he says.  “What that does is pull in the farmers.”

After sharing his experience in Ireland with US cattle producers, Thompson says he was invited to visit US ranches and looks forward to doing so later this year.

AUDIO: Don Thompson, McDonald’s Corporation (1:17mp3)

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