At McDonald’s, we feed nearly 90% of the U.S. population every year. But have you ever wondered what it takes to serve real, delicious, and affordable food to 26 million Americans each day? 

Behind every meal are the people making it possible: from the potato growers in Idaho, cattle ranchers in Texas, and bakers in Illinois, to the small business owners who operate restaurants in communities across the country. 

We don’t take our role at the heart of American food lightly – and it’s why we’re continuously working to make it even better for the future. How do we do that? It starts with four promises. 

1. We put quality first

The millions of Americans who visit us have high expectations—and rightly so. They want quality, delicious food. But too often, good food with real ingredients means compromising on price or convenience.  

That’s not how we do things at McDonald’s. We use real ingredients, many of which are grown, raised, and harvested by local farmers and ranchers. From beef, chicken and fish to potatoes and eggs, it is something we’ll never compromise on. And our long-term relationships mean our suppliers can thrive and grow with us.

What’s not in our food is just as important. Our seven classic burgers—from our Big Mac® to the Quarter Pounder® with Cheese—contain no artificial preservatives or flavors, and no added colors from artificial sources (except the pickle).

The result? Delicious food you can feel good about enjoying: 

• We use 100% pure beef patties, seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper. We have two partners who have supplied our beef since the day we opened our very first restaurants.

• Our Chicken McNuggets® are made with 100% white meat, with no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. And customers love them: we sell about 700 million pounds of McNuggets every year.

• All Filet-O-Fish sandwiches in the U.S. are made with 100% wild-caught Alaska Pollock from U.S. waters, the Eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands right off the coast of Alaska.

• We use freshly cracked eggs on our Egg McMuffin® sandwiches—and all the eggs we source in the U.S. are 100% cage-free.

• Our Happy Meal products make balanced meals more accessible by offering recommended food group items like apples and low-fat milks. 

• In 2023, we bought more than $6.4 billion of quality ingredients in the U.S. That includes 714 million pounds of beef, 133 million pounds of cheese, 2.6 billion pounds of potatoes and nearly 2 billion 100% cage-free eggs. Take our famous fries as just one example – our customers enjoy 3.6 billion servings per year in the U.S., which is more than 255 billion individual fries.

We’ve been obsessed with using real, quality ingredients since the day we opened our very first restaurant. And over the years, we’ve evolved our menu to keep pace with the latest customer preferences. Our menu provides clear and transparent nutrition information to help customers like you make informed choices about the menu items you know and love. And we know what’s not in your food is just as important as what’s in your food. 

• Our seven classic burgers—from our Big Mac® to the Quarter Pounder® with Cheese—contain no artificial preservatives or flavors, and no added colors from artificial sources (except the pickle). 

• Food additives such as, Red Dye No. 3, TBHQ, BHT/BHA, Titanium Dioxide and Azodicarbonamide are not on the menu.

Over our 70-year history, we’ve carefully selected farmers and suppliers and built strong and long-term relationships based on a simple, shared mission: to serve safe, quality food every day. 

It means we can set high standards together and that they can grow with us and create good jobs across the nation.  

• We have around 30 suppliers that make up 2/3 of our food and packaging.

• Our relationships with suppliers create jobs and growth. In 2023 in Houston, we spent $104M with suppliers and supported 15,200 jobs. And in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, it was $85M and 9,800 jobs.

• On any given day in 2023, more than 60,000 food safety audits were conducted at McDonald’s restaurants across the country.

“Our suppliers’ actions reverberate throughout the industry. Their commitment to quality, rigorous standards and ability to innovate impacts not just how the food we source is grown—it has the power to change entire industries.” 
– Cesar Piña, Chief Supply Chain Officer, McDonald’s USA

4. We innovate together to strengthen America’s future food system.

From finding new ways to farm that protect the local environment and help strengthen small businesses, to growing potatoes that taste better and grow quicker, to working across the food industry to make cage-free eggs the norm: it’s our partnerships that make it all possible. And we’re excited to help make American food even better for the future.

We believe that for food to be delicious, it first has to be real and made with the highest quality ingredients. And when we do that in close partnership with the suppliers who make it possible, we can serve millions of customers every day while supporting thousands of good jobs and strengthening American food for the future.

“Our customers deserve real food with real ingredients – and that’s exactly what's on the menu at McDonald’s. Because when it comes to our food, we like to keep things simple – it’s all about great taste, great quality, and great value.” - Michael Gonda, SVP, Chief Impact Officer of North America for McDonald's