McDonald’s Launches New Sustainable Beef Initiative: Can Fast Food Go Green?

Well look who’s on the cutting edge of the green food movement: McDonald’s is testing two sustainable beef pilot programs in the U.S., possibly advancing an entire industry and changing the way we eat (fast food) beef.

Related: Good vs. Evil: 7 Healthier Fast Food Options

McDonald’s is huge, so huge in fact that it’s one of the largest global beef purchasers, buying more than two percent of all beef produced in the EU alone. The company has been using that power to help move the needle on more green farming practices.

Five years ago, McDonald’s became a founding member of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, defining “sustainable beef as socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically viable” and sought to improve “soil health and air quality” as well as protect water.

Now it’s investing in two new programs: a research initiative to measure beef sustainability throughout the supply chain and a $4.5 million matching grant program to test grazing practices in hopes of discovering one that leads to a negative carbon impact.

What’s more, the company has promised to eliminate deforestation from its beef supply chain by 2020.

While this is all well and good, don’t roll out the green carpet just yet. Some have pointed out that first and foremost, McDonald’s is using this as a means of attracting new customers, who want more information about where their food is coming from.

Additionally, McDonald’s doesn’t seem to have a consistent stance on sustainable beef. (It often applies standards to only the top 10 percent of markets).

And finally, there’s the menu itself.

As Kari Hamerschlag, deputy director of the food and technology program at Friends of the Earth, told Fortune: “We don’t expect them to stop serving beef, but if they reduced the size, they would reduce the impact.” Translation: The double quarter pounder has got to go.

Still, some progress is better than no progress, and we’ve been known to indulge in a 99 cent vanilla ice cream cone on a hot summer day. Fingers crossed, McDonald’s efforts at aligning with core sustainable business practices and values come to fruition, and fast.