When someone mentions "farm to table," golden arches probably aren't the first things that come to mind. Or even the 99 billionth—the working number the McDonald's fast-food chain settled on in 1993 when it stopped counting how many burgers it has sold around the world.
And yet, given the facts and figures bandied about last Thursday when the annual nationwide return of the popular, barbeque-sauce-and-onion-smothered McRib sandwich was tied into Indiana agriculture, it could be argued that McDonald's deserves a seat, at minimum, at the farm-to-table drive-through window.
The meat in a McRib sandwich may bear only a scant resemblance to a rack of locally procured baby backs served by a farm-to-fork establishment, but Indiana hog farmers aren't complaining.
According to a news release, "in 2018 the McDonald's system purchased more than $34 million worth of products from Indiana farmers, including 4.5 million pounds of pork."
Since a significant portion of that meat, after making various stops along the way from farm to dinner tables—or various improvised eating surfaces— was undoubtedly consumed by Hoosiers, there's an undeniable connection to the state's $31 billion farm economy that supports 185,000 jobs.
"To me, I think it does (meet farm-to-table criteria)," Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler said during a McRib news conference conducted via Zoom. "I guess it depends totally on your definition of farm-to-table, but one of things I've appreciated about McDonald's with this type of promotion is to talk about the fact that they're using local products."
Of course, what has become known as the farm-to-table social movement would appear to be on the opposite end of the commercial food spectrum from McDonald's, with its highly polished corporate image and global reach to 117 countries.
And, applying farm-to-table metrics to a multi-national organization ranked 156th on the Fortune 500 would seem far-fetched.
One has a quaint, homespun feel conjuring up images of fresh meat and produce loaded at the farm into the back end of a pickup and delivered to a chef waiting at the back door of a restaurant. The other drops off its supplies to 38,000 restaurants around the globe from refrigerated semis.
However, Kettler also pointed out that in '18 McDonald's purchased 221 million pounds of corn, 20.4 million pounds of soybeans, 1.7 million pounds of soybean oil, 770,000 pounds of flour, 4.5 million gallons of milk and 2.4 million dozen eggs from Indiana producers.
The farm-to-table movement has gained a lot of traction by pointing out that while Hoosiers spend $16 billion a year on food, less than 10 percent of that amount is spent on locally sourced products. That underscores a peculiar dichotomy considering that Indiana is the 10th-largest farm state with 57,500 farmers working 19 million acres of land.
So, does the money a Hoosier spends on a McRib count toward the purchase of locally sourced products?
"From the McDonald's perspective, it's the McDonald's system that buys this, so the part from Indiana goes everywhere," said Bill Herbst, a McDonald's spokesman. "It goes to Indiana; it goes everywhere across the country. So it really is a farm-to-table with all the things we buy in Indiana."
Indiana Grown was formed in 2014 with the Lieutenant governor's appointment of a 12-member commission charged with providing guidance and assistance to the state Department of Agriculture's mission to promote and elevate all forms of agriculture that are packaged, raised, grown and processed in Indiana.
"You can find local food at your local farmers market, grocery store and the drive-through," said Heather Tallman, Indiana Grown program director.
Among Indiana Grown's 1,700-plus members and 50-plus business partners are: farmers, farmers markets, distributors, producers, processors, wineries, breweries, artisans, retailers, grocers, hospitals and restaurants.
According to the Indiana Grown website, "When you buy Indiana Grown products, you are keeping dollars and food close to home and supporting your fellow Hoosiers. You are also supporting job creation and building sustainable communities, while preserving Indiana's agricultural heritage."
That doesn't sound a whole lot different from what Paul Jedele does with the nine McDonald's restaurants he owns along with his father and brother in west-central Indiana.
"Greencastle, Ind. is where I'm at right now and that's where our office is, and also is a very large agricultural hub," Jedele said during the news conference. "There are several pork farmers in the community that always get excited when we start talking McRib. A lot of times McDonald's is looked at as a huge, global enterprise, but it really comes down to a lot of local players that make things work, like the farmers as well as the owner-operators.
"The other unique thing about McDonald's is we employ over 21,000 people in the state of Indiana. I find McDonald's to be all about opportunity. Farming and agribusiness is a critical part of our Indiana economy and there's over 300 (McDonald's) restaurants in Indiana that are also a huge part of the Indiana economy, so it's just kind of a neat relationship."
Farmers are dependent on the markets through which they move their commodities and products, whether it be the local farm stand and restaurant up the road, or with large-scale, mega buyers like McDonald's, which introduced the McRib in 1981.
"It is no secret, Indiana knows pork," said Jeanette Merritt, the director of Checkoff Programs for the Indiana Pork Producers Assn. "We rank fifth in the country in the amount of pigs raised and our pork industry provides more than 15,000 jobs across the state.
"Those pork farmers spend more than $600 million in local, rural economies each year, and I know some of those dollars go to local McDonald's as they're driving through for lunch."
In addition to representing the state's 3,000 family-owner pig farms, Merritt is a fourth-generation pork producer (with a fifth generation waiting in the wings) at Maple Acres Farms in Miami County.
"Pork owns the breakfast fast-food market, but breakfast sales have slipped this year as more people have been working from home and not driving through to order sandwiches with bacon, ham or sausage on them," she said. "That's why the relaunch of the McRib is key to driving pork sales for our industry.
"Restaurant sales are vital to keeping our pig farms in business for the next generations to come."