2004 Update to "McDonald's email" HOAX

Thanks for checking with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association on the validity of the "McDonald's e-mail."  This e-mail is a hoax.  What's more, it is an old hoax.  The e-mail first appeared in 2002 and resurfaced again in early 2004.  Below is some information TCFA distributed when the e-mail first began circulating.   

Thanks for writing.  Your instincts are correct--the e-mail is a hoax.  Texas Cattle Feeders Association did not originate the e-mail nor are we calling for a boycott of McDonald's.  I don't know who put our name on the e-mail, but they did so without our knowledge or consent.   

Below is information from Dr. David Forrest with Texas A&M University that explains the situation more clearly.  Again, thanks for writing--this is one e-mail that's a definite delete. 

Burt Rutherford
Communications Director
Texas Cattle Feeders Association

Information from Dr. David Forrest below:

Thank you for taking time to check the validity of the email and providing me an opportunity to respond. This is actually a chain email (urban legend) that misrepresents the situation regarding use of imported beef.   I would like to clarify that I did not compose the original message and ask that you not forward it because there are a number of inaccurate statements. I made the mistake of forwarding it to some associates (before I realized it was a hoax) to solicit their feedback on the accuracy  because I was skeptical of the statements.  In the process, my signature was inadvertently added to the bottom of the page.  There are web sites that provide additional information concerning inaccurate statements in the original message:

 http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/boycotts/mcdbeef.htm

 http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/mcbeef.html

 www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/foreignbeef.htm

This chain email is listed on the Netlore Archive website under the Top 25 Urban Legends.  I have also included below a response from McDonald's to the Texas Farm Bureau and a recent article from the Cattle Buyers Weekly.  I would appreciate your assistance in relaying this information to those who received the original e-mail to help
break this chain of misinformation.  Thank you.  

Sincerely,
David  

McDonald's responds to concerns

The following is a response from McDonald's to a letter written by Donald Patman, President of the Texas Farm Bureau. That letter was in regards to the fast food giant's decision to pilot test imported beef for use in their products. The letter urged that McDonald's make the purchase of U.S. beef a priority and exhaust sources of supply within the U.S. before any import suppliers were considered. McDonald's response reads as follows:

June 7, 2002

Dear Mr. Patman:

Thank you for your letter to Jack Greenburg. On behalf of Jack, I wanted to respond to your concerns and ensure you have the facts. I'd encourage you to share this letter with others who share your concerns.

First, we'd like to reiterate our long-term commitment to the U.S. agriculture industry. McDonald's buys almost 1 billion pounds of beef from U.S. producers each year-thus making us the largest purchaser of U.S. beef. That's not all. McDonald's also purchases 500 million pounds of chicken each year; 156 million dozen eggs; and 60 million gallons of milk. In no way whatsoever will we ever lessen our dependence on the U.S. farmer. In fact, we are aggressively working with farmers and ranchers, on a state and national level, to strengthen our relationship.

With that said, there is a well-documented shortage of lean beef in the U.S. because of the declining number of breeding and dairy cows going to market. These animals are a significant source of lean ground beef. At the same time, consumer demand for ground products is increasing dramatically; ground beef now accounts for nearly 50 percent of total red meat consumption, and lean ground beef is clearly preferred by the retail customer. That's the reason McDonald's is conducting a small test in the Southeast U.S. In the test, McDonald's is only supplementing dwindling supplies of U.S. lean grinding beef with a small supply of beef from Australia and New Zealand .

Even so, the vast majority of every hamburger, even in the Southeast, is made with U.S. beef, as this small McDonald's test involves less than 1 percent of the beef we sell in restaurants. Meanwhile, all national hamburger chains have used or are using a significant percentage of imported beef; as much as 50 percent of their beef is imported.

You should also know we're working with the National Cattlemens' Beef Association (NCBA) to explore other solutions to the lean beef shortage, including looking at muscle profiling and other grades of cows. We are committed to working with the industry to address the challenges that we both face in this competitive and dynamic marketplace. In fact, we're asking the entire Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry to commit to working with the American producer to increase the domestic supply of lean grinding beef.  

One additional point you may not be aware of: the amount of beef that enters the U.S. is governed by a strict quota system. Whether McDonald's uses imported beef or not, the same amount of beef will be imported. We committed to the industry-and remain steadfast-that we advocate keeping this quota the same.

It's also important to point out we're aggressively expanding the export market. Beef from our cattle producing states supplies both fed trimmings and finished hamburgers to growing McDonald's markets in Latin America and the Caribbean; last year alone, we exported 19 million pounds of meat to those markets. We're committed to working with the NCBA and other agriculture groups to identify ways in which we can further expand our global use of beef from U.S. cattle. In closing, we'd like to reiterate that McDonald's only uses those products that meet or exceeds the highest standards. Imported beef must meet the same requirements as the products produced domestically including our requirements for feed certification and animal welfare. Our stringent specifications are the reason McDonald's is known worldwide for consistency and quality.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Frank Muschetto
Sr. Vice President McDonald's Supply Chain Management

Mike Thompson
Vice President McDonald's US Supply System

CATTLE BUYERS WEEKLY
MARKETING AND BUSINESS NEWS FOR THE BEEF INDUSTRY

June17, 2002

MCDONALD'S SUPPORTS U.S. INDUSTRY  

GIANT hamburger chain McDonalds is the biggest purchaser of U.S.
beef, buying nearly 1 billion pounds each year. Even if it tested imported product coast-to-coast, it would still buy as much U.S. beef as its two closest competitors. It will not walk away from American producers.

That's the message that John Hayes, the chain 's senior director of U.S. beef procurement, is conveying to producers. If it were just about  price, McDonald's would have joined its competitors years ago in buying  foreign beef, he told Nebraska producers recently. By purchasing U.S.  beef, McDonald's has invested $180M over the last 15 years in the U.S.   industry that would have otherwise gone to foreign suppliers. The $180M is what McDonald' s would have saved had it bought imported beef, he says. Hayes has been speaking to producer groups after CB W disclosed on April 1 that the chain is testing imported beef.

McDonalds is doing this because demand for it has increase dramatically while the supply of lean beef from cull cows has decreased, says Hayes. Since the 1970s, the  number of McDonalds restaurants in the U.S. has grown from 1,500 to 13,000. But the number of cull cows and other non-feedlot animals sent  to market has declined from about 10M million to about 5M head.

In addition, competitors have increased the number of their stores and  consumers have demanded leaner beef in all their purchases, he says. McDonald's depends on and is committed to working with U.S. producers.   It will not attempt to raise the U.S. quota on beef imports from Australia and New Zealand or support anyone who wants it raised. The U.S. supply of lean beef is tight and marbled beef is plentiful.

Internationally, the opposite is true. McDonald' s exports more than 19M lbs of trim and finished product from the U.S. to Latin America and the Caribbean , he says. As it continues to expand the number of its stores internationally, it needs to take more U. S. beef with it.  Addressing beef safety, Hayes says McDonald's is using only beef from
Australia and   New Zealand in its import testing. It uses USDA standards, its own standards and third party testing to ensure safety, he says.