Ambitious climate commitments mean companies like McDonald’s and Lopez Foods may need to invest in climate-smart technologies like Enogen corn.

“McDonald’s is starting with a priority ingredient for our company — beef,” said Kendra Levine, director of U.S. sustainability for McDonald’s. “We believe the innovative collaboration with Syngenta is an opportunity to help us make progress toward our science-based climate targets.”

“We’re proud of the great attributes of our Enogen corn and how our work can help enable McDonald’s and their beef supply chain to deliver impact.” — Justin Wolfe

Enogen corn, used for grain and silage, contains a robust alpha-amylase enzyme that quickly converts starch to usable sugars, delivering more available energy to cattle and is easily digestible. Increased digestibility of Enogen corn can result in increased feed efficiency, which is widely recognized as an important approach to helping reduce GHG emissions in livestock production systems¹.

University research has shown that feeding Enogen as silage or grain can improve feed efficiency by about 5%². Life-cycle assessment (LCA) shows potential for environmental savings resulting from this increased efficiency, including lower emissions of GHG and lower use of land, energy and water per unit of production³. Specific findings show that, per 1,000 head of beef cattle, this collaboration could potentially achieve annual savings of⁴:

• 196 tons CO₂ equivalent in GHG reduction;
• 69-acre reduction in land used for growing feed;
• 6 million fewer gallons of water used; and
• 231,000 kilowatt-hours in energy savings.

McDonald’s plans to scale this program to help deliver more than 164,000 metric tons CO₂ equivalent per year.

According to Wolfe, sustainability is fully embedded in the global business strategy of Syngenta, with clear targets and an ambition that guides the company’s innovation, including advancements in seed technology like Enogen. Syngenta’s sustainability priorities include achieving higher yields with lower impact, regenerating soil and nature, improving rural prosperity, and establishing sustainable operations. Collaborations like these will drive impact and change at scale.

Editor’s note: This article is provided by Syngenta Global. [Lead photo by grandriver from Getty Images.]
Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 16, No. 11-B​

¹Min et al. Animals 2022, 12, 948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12080948; Waite, R, and J. Zionts. WRI 2022, 7 Opportunities to Reduce Emissions from Beef Production. https://www.wri.org/insights/opportunities-reduce-emissions-beef-production.

²University of Nebraska–Lincoln Research Studies, 2013-2017; Kansas State University Research Study, 2017; Pennsylvania State University, 2019

³Based on LCA conducted by the University of Arkansas Resiliency Center for 1,000 head, backgrounding through feedyard (Matlock et al. Analysis of Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Using Enogen^® Corn in Beef Cattle Rations. Animals 2021, 11, 2916. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102916) using these experimental data and resources: Transl. Anim. Sci., 2019, 3, 504-512, https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txy121 (Exp 2); Transl. Anim. Sci., 2022, 6, 1–13 https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txac013 (Exp 1); https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator; and  https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/units-and-calculators/energy-conversion-calculators.php.

⁴The claims presented in this media release are Syngenta’s and were not independently verified by McDonald’s.