McDonald’s wants to make flatulent cows less of a problem for the environment

• Burgers at McDonald’s could soon involve fewer greenhouse gas emissions thanks to a new cattle feed.
• One of the restaurant’s meat suppliers will use a new type of corn from seed company Syngenta.
• The feed could reduce carbon dioxide emissions and water consumed while raising the cattle.

The average McDonald’s customer hopefully isn’t thinking about the impact that cattle burps — or worse — can have on the environment as they chow down on a Big Mac. The company, however, is.

McDonald’s is working with seed company Syngenta and Lopez Foods, one of McDonald’s meat suppliers, to feed cattle Syngenta’s Enogen corn, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.

Enogen is a feed that has been genetically modified with an enzyme “that quickly converts starch to usable sugars, delivering more available energy to cattle while being easily digestible,” according to the statement.

That easy digestibility could mean fewer greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming. As cattle and other livestock digest food, they produce methane, usually through belching or flatulence, which represents about a quarter of all the agriculture industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

As well as potentially fewer bovine burps, cattle that eat Enogen corn can also reach slaughtering weight faster and with a smaller environmental footprint, according to the companies. Syngenta said that a herd of 1,000 cattle fed using Enogen could result in 196 fewer tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere and 6 million fewer gallons of water consumed annually.

McDonald’s said the feed could help it meet its climate goals. The fast-food chain is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and has said it will cut emissions from its company-owned restaurants and offices by about 50% by 2030, among other goals. It’s a top buyer of beef in the US.

“We believe the innovative collaboration with Syngenta is an opportunity to help us make progress toward our science-based climate targets,” Director of US Sustainability for McDonald’s Kendra Levine said in the statement.

McDonald’s global sales were down during the company’s third quarter as many consumers saved money by eating at home.

The burger chain won back some customers with its temporary $5 meal deal earlier this year, which excluded the two-beef-patty McDouble burger. Executives have said they’re planning permanent changes to McDonald’s menu to offer more affordable choices.