Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • August 2025
    • 2025 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2025
    • 2025 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. August 2025
    2. 2025 Poultry Health supplement
    3. July 2025
    4. 2025 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    5. June 2025
    6. 2025 Innovation supplement
    7. May 2025
    8. April 2025
    9. March 2025
    10. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    11. February 2025
    12. January 2025
    13. December 2024
    14. November 2024
    15. October 2024
    16. September 2024
    17. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    18. August 2024
    19. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    20. July 2024
    21. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    22. June 2024
    23. 2024 Innovation supplement
    24. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    25. May 2024
    26. April 2024
    27. March 2024
    28. February 2024
    29. January 2024
    30. December 2023
    31. November 2023
    32. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    33. October 2023
    34. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    35. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – August 2025 issue out now

    By Chloe RyanAugust 13, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – August 2025 issue out now

    August 13, 2025

    2025 Poultry Health supplement out now

    August 13, 2025

    Poultry Business – July 2025 issue

    July 1, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
Business & Politics

McDonald’s pledges to improve British sourcing of poultry

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanNovember 6, 20172 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

McDonald’s has pledged to source more of its chicken from UK farmers, after it was revealed the fast food chain now sells more chicken than beef.

The restaurant giant sources British eggs but when it comes to poultry meat it has traditionally imported much of what it sells. Whilst the free range eggs which are used to serve the 3.7 million customers in the UK that visit McDonalds restaurants daily are all sourced from the UK chicken used across the UK’s 1,280 McDonald’s restaurants is currently sourced from Europe, Brazil and Thailand as well as the UK.

In 2016 at the NFU conference, Poultry Industry Programme participant and young poultry producer from the West Midlands, James Mottershead asked McDonald’s Supply Chain Director for the UK and Ireland, Connor McVeigh why McDonald’s had not shown similar investment into the sourcing of British poultry meat than it already made in eggs and beef in the UK.

At the Egg and Poultry Industry conference on the 30 October 2017, approximately 20 months after Mottershead asked what could be done to work towards an improved ratio of British sourced chicken over the next five to ten years McVeigh announced the plans of the UK’s largest restaurant chain to do just that and increase its sourcing of British chicken.

McVeigh told the audience that chicken is now the most popular item on the McDonald’s menu and globally the restaurant chain had made eight commitments to chicken sourcing, stating that most of them were already in place in the UK. He ended his presentation announcing that by 2020 McDonald’s in the UK and Ireland will have tripled the amount of British chicken it sources, meaning that there will be ten times more British chicken on the menu compared to 2014.

NFU Poultry Adviser, Aimee Mahony said: “We welcome this announcement by McDonald’s as we have been asking them for a better commitment to the sourcing of British poultry for a number of years. Whilst it is good news that McDonald’s are going to triple the amount of British chicken used in their restaurants in the UK and Ireland it’s important to note that Mr McVeigh did not confirm what percentage of their overall sourcing this would be. We will continue to ask McDonald’s to improve their sourcing of British poultry until they reach 100%”.

 

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous Article2 Sisters West Brom plant reopens following dates-changing crisis
Next Article New poultry research unit at Nottingham Trent University
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

Business & Politics

Environment Agency refuses Cranswick permit for Norfolk farm redevelopment

September 3, 20252 Mins Read
Business & Politics

Government outlines how SPS agreement will benefit industry

September 1, 20251 Min Read
Business & Politics

Waitrose completes transition to Better Chicken Commitment

September 1, 20251 Min Read
Latest News

Environment Agency refuses Cranswick permit for Norfolk farm redevelopment

September 3, 2025

NFU survey reveals ageing UK poultry housing

September 3, 2025

Chicken price rises fuels meat and poultry inflation in August

September 2, 2025
Sponsored Content

How can UK farmers make poultry profitable without losing welfare?

September 1, 2025

Precision Nutrition: A global approach to reducing broiler feed cost.

August 1, 2025
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.