McDonald’s serves millions of meals every day, shaping not just how people eat, but how our food system impacts animals, the climate, and the environment. With that kind of global reach comes responsibility—and right now, McDonald’s is falling behind.
Falling Behind in Plant-Based Options
In World Animal Protection’s Moving the Menu report, McDonald’s received an “F” grade for its lack of meaningful progress in offering more sustainable and humane plant-based menu options. While some competitors have made plant-based meals a permanent part of their menus, McDonald’s continues to be one of the largest purchasers of animal products, propping up an industry with high environmental and ethical costs.
Offering limited or inconsistent options fails to address the urgent need for more humane and sustainable food choices and keeps McDonald’s in the bottom ranks.
Why Plant-Based Matters
Animal agriculture, particularly raising and killing animals for meat, is a major driver of climate change, habitat destruction, and animal suffering. The environmental and ethical impacts of continuing to rely on animal products are clear:
- Climate impact: Factory farming generates significantly more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based foods.
- Resource use: Producing animal products requires far more land, water, and energy compared with plant-based alternatives.
- Animal cruelty: Industrial animal agriculture subjects billions of animals to horrific conditions and extreme suffering every year.
Plant-based foods offer a clear, scalable solution. They reduce environmental impact, require fewer resources, and provide a more humane and sustainable option for consumers—yet McDonald’s has failed to implement them at scale.
The Happiest Meals Come From Plants
McDonald’s must commit to making plant-based options permanent, accessible, and widely available across its U.S. menu. This isn't just about consumer choice; it's about accountability.
Expanding plant-based options would:
- Reduce reliance on high-impact, unethical animal products
- Give consumers real, meaningful menu choices that promote healthier, kinder habits
- Demonstrate corporate responsibility for environmental and ethical impact
Temporary tests and limited offerings are insufficient. With billions of meals served every day, McDonald’s has the reach and capacity to lead the fast-food industry toward a more humane and sustainable food system—it has simply chosen not to.
The Time for Change Is Now
McDonald’s has a responsibility to lead the sector to a new standard and make plant-based options permanent, visible, and widely available across U.S. restaurants. The world cannot wait, and neither can the animals, the planet, or the consumers who are demanding change.
It is time to end feedlots and factory farms. McDonald’s: put plants on the menu now.