Spokesman For McDonald’s Chain
Stresses Reliance On Suppliers

HOUSTON — Back in 1979, a financial analyst said America was moving away from beef — a trend that supposedly signaled a death knell for the McDonald's fast-food chain.

"That," said Richard Starmann, senior vice president of communications for McDonald's, "was 17 years and 14,000 restaurants ago."

The McDonald's spokesman addressed around 650 cattle feeders attending the Texas Cattle Feeders Association’s recent convention here.

In 1995, McDonald's used 731 million pounds of U.S. beef, a figure Starmann expects to continue growing as McDonald's adds new restaurants. "We serve 33 million customers every day around the world," he told cattle feeders, "and 18 million of them, or 7 percent of the population, are right here in the United States. We have more than 20,000 restaurants in 96 countries worldwide and every four hours somewhere in the world, a new McDonald's opens."

What that means is McDonald's will rely more and more on suppliers — "the ranchers, the packers and, of course, you, the cattle feeders, to help us produce high quality, lean hamburgers."

Starmann said the continued consumer concern about food safety means McDonald's will increasingly ask its suppliers to join them in striving to make quality and safety a priority in everything they do. He listed five specific ways cattlemen can join McDonald's in achieving that goal.

"First, we all need to totally embrace food safety prevention programs such as the HACCP system." HACCP was developed to ensure the highest quality and safest products, he said. "We believe it's critical that these programs be an integral part of your — or any food manufacturer's — business."

Second, he urged cattle feeders to take every possible step to ensure the consistent high quality of the cattle they feed. "Consistency is the backbone of the McDonald's system. From Connecticut to California, every hamburger, every Big Mac, must have not only the same great taste, but the same high quality. We ask that every one of our beef partners be aware of the role they play in maintaining this consistency."

Third, he said everyone must keep the end user of beef in mind. They must never lose sight of the tens of millions of families who eat beef and have placed their trust in cattlemen's ability to produce a high quality, safe product, he said.

"Next, please move beyond the mindset that you are merely producing beef, because in reality, you are producing beef products. And finally, we at McDonald's ask that you continue to consider the welfare of the animals you're raising."

While that's a fairly comprehensive program, Starmann said considering the scope of McDonald's business, it is not hard to understand why food safety and quality is so critically important to them.

Starmann commended cattle feeders for their efforts in producing quality beef and for their perseverance in surviving a difficult year.

"There are peaks and valleys in every business and every industry. Knowing the history of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the many fine people who are the nucleus of it, we're confident that you will navigate the valleys and maximize the peaks successfully."

He said McDonald's wants cattlemen to continue to help produce healthy, delicious beef of the highest quality. "I promise that if you continue to deliver this beef, we'll continue to sell it. Lots of it."