The restaurant group announced late last year that it was teaming up with meat supplier Lopez Foods and agrichemical giant, Syngenta on a feed efficiency focused project.
The fast-food chain is scaling the use of Syngenta’s Enogen corn as animal feed in the US, a move that aims to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per pound of meat produced.
McDonald’s is the first major food brand to partner with Syngenta’s Feed Forward Program, which focuses on addressing climate change by introducing feed innovations across value chains.
Research indicates that feeding Enogen corn as silage or grain can improve feed efficiency by approximately 5%, reported Syngenta.
Progress in sustainability
The partners are working to operationalize the initiative. McDonald’s is financing carbon intensity offsets and collaborating on program development, Lopez Foods is overseeing day-to-day operations, and Syngenta is engaging farmers to drive adoption.
“This collaboration is a critical part of our ongoing efforts to meet science-based climate targets”
Kendra Levine, director of US sustainability for McDonald’s
Enogen corn, exclusive to Syngenta, contains an alpha amylase enzyme that accelerates starch-to-sugar conversion, improving cattle digestion and energy intake. This boost in feed efficiency leads to reduced GHG emissions from beef production, according to research cited by the agrichemical company.
A Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by the Resiliency Center at the University of Arkansas highlights the environmental benefits of using Enogen corn.
Sygnenta maintains that its findings show that, per 1,000 head of beef cattle, this collaboration could potentially achieve annual savings of:
- 196 tons (178 metric tons) of CO2e reduction
- 69 acres (28 hectares) less land required for feed
- 6 million gallons (22 million liters) of water saved
- 231,000 kilowatt-hours of energy conserved
McDonald’s plans to scale the program further, aiming to cut over 164,000 metric tons of CO2e annually as implementation expands throughout 2025.
Adoption incentives and verification
To promote widespread adoption, producers receive payments based on a cents-per-head, per-day formula, calculated using total mixed ration (TMR) data and closeout reports, a Syngenta spokesperson told us.
Incentives are tied directly to Enogen feed use.
Third-party audits, conducted by Where Food Comes From, will verify program results, ensuring accountability and transparency, said the representative.
McDonald's outlines recent progress on climate goals
The fast-food chain says its global science-based target, which it revised in 2023, has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and covers all three emission scopes in line with a 1.5˚C warming scenario.
It has signed deals, along with its North American Logistics Council (NALC), to purchase renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates.
"We are tying our commitment to eliminate deforestation in priority commodities to climate action, using the SBTi’s Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) framework to calculate and address our emissions associated with land use change."
Scaling for 2025 and beyond
An initial pilot phase of the project involved select farmers to refine logistics, data collection, and auditing processes. The initiative is now scaling across a broader network of producers.
Syngenta is targeting a wide range of farms, with straightforward requirements: producers must feed Enogen at specified levels, maintain standard records, and meet basic livestock management practices.
Enogen corn is already available across the continental US, with costs and production methods comparable to standard yellow dent #2 hybrids. “Enogen is just corn with an added trait technology, Event 3272,” explained the Syngenta spokesperson.