McDonald’s Shift Toward Regenerative Agriculture: A Case Study in Corporate Sustainability
In April 2025, McDonald’s—one of the world’s largest and most recognizable fast-food chains—announced a major pivot in its global sourcing strategy: a strategic commitment to regenerative agriculture. Framed as both an environmental imperative and an operational necessity, this move signals a new phase in how multinational food corporations respond to the climate crisis. Rather than simply reducing harm, McDonald’s is looking to actively restore the ecosystems that underpin its supply chain, partnering with farmers and suppliers in North America, South America, and Europe to launch initiatives focused on soil health, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity.
The urgency behind this shift stems from real supply chain shocks. Climate disruptions, including heatwaves that have wiped out lettuce crops and delays in potato production due to extreme weather, have highlighted the vulnerabilities of conventional sourcing strategies. Beth Hart, McDonald’s Vice President of Supply Chain Sustainability, has been clear in her messaging: these are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a broader pattern. “No lettuce, no Big Mac,” she noted in a recent interview, encapsulating the business risk at hand. Regenerative agriculture, for McDonald’s, is as much about building resilience as it is about environmental stewardship.
At its core, regenerative agriculture refers to a set of practices that aim to restore and enhance natural systems rather than simply sustaining them. These include techniques like cover cropping to prevent erosion, rotational grazing to rebuild pasture ecosystems, reduced tillage to protect soil carbon, and diversified planting to reduce pest pressures and support biodiversity. According to the Rodale Institute, these systems can sequester more than one metric ton of carbon per hectare per year, while also improving water retention, nutrient density, and long-term farm profitability.
Since its initial April announcement, McDonald’s has expanded its regenerative agenda through several high-profile collaborations and pilot projects. One of the most notable developments is its participation in the “Routes to Regen” initiative, launched in partnership with McCain Foods, Waitrose & Partners, and UK financial institutions including Barclays and Lloyds. The initiative is part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative and aims to remove financial barriers to regenerative agriculture adoption by providing credit support, technical training, and tools to measure ecosystem outcomes. It represents a rare alignment between food companies, banks, and policy stakeholders—all focused on transforming how food is grown and sourced.
The company is also piloting region-specific programs tailored to the environmental and cultural contexts of its supply regions. In the U.S., it is testing starch-enzyme-enhanced cattle feed that improves digestion and reduces methane emissions. In Canada, McDonald’s is helping potato farmers acquire soil-friendly tools like air disc seeders and chisel ploughs. Meanwhile, in the UK, McDonald’s has partnered with the University of Oxford on a long-term study of rotational grazing practices. The project also uses AI-powered bioacoustic sensors to monitor biodiversity, specifically through birdsong data, a novel way to quantify ecological health.
McDonald’s serves more than 69 million customers every day, making it one of the most influential actors in the global food system. If its regenerative strategy succeeds, it could shift entire commodity markets and establish a new baseline for responsible sourcing in the 21st century. But success won’t come from vision statements alone. It will depend on the infrastructure—technological, financial, and social—that supports change on the ground. That’s why Helios is proud to be part of this movement, providing the tools and insights needed to turn regenerative ambition into measurable, scalable progress.
If you're a stakeholder in the food, retail, or agriculture space looking to operationalize your sustainability goals, now is the time to act. Regenerative agriculture isn't just a trend—it's fast becoming the standard. And with the right data and tools, it's entirely within reach.
