McDonald's joins Purdue in celebrating relaunch of McRib sandwich, saluting farmers

Noe Padilla, Lafayette Journal & Courier
·4 min read
8

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Legend has it, the McDonald's McRib, a favorite visitor to the fast food chain's menu, consists of seasoned boneless pork dipped in barbeque sauce, topped with slivered onions and dill pickles, served on a toasted bun.

There's more to the McRib sandwich, though, as McDonald's, Purdue University and Indiana state agriculture officials acknowledged this week.

Leaders from McDonald’s of Greater Indiana, Purdue University College of Agriculture’s Swine Unit, and Indiana state agriculture officials, met at Purdue University Monday to celebrate the works that go into the seasonal fan favorite sandwich.

The goal of the event was to highlight McDonald’s long-standing commitment to Indiana agriculture, as well as the research being conducted at Purdue University that aims to tackle the future of the pork industry, by making it more sustainable, and addressing the environmental impact of large-scale swine farming.

Halloween 2022: Ahead of holiday, officials warn parents of candy-colored fentanyl

“McDonald’s is a huge buyer of Indiana agricultural products, a lot of different types of meat, but here today definitely pork. So, McDonald’s put together this group today, and what we were specifically here for at Purdue was to see the future of pork production,” Jordan Seger, Indiana State Department of Agriculture deputy director, said.

“It’s definitely agriculture heavy in tradition but the future of being able to look into animal diets, being able to look into sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions, (and) water quality improvements. That’s kind of what we saw at Purdue today, and although it’s a large farm, they’re able to do a significant amount of experiments with a real focus on how they tweak the diets of what the pigs eat, but still produce great meat while reducing the environmental impact.”

When it comes to the partnership between Indiana and McDonald’s, according to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, McDonald’s purchased around $15 million in raw products from Indiana suppliers.

McDonald’s purchased around, 6.4 million gallons of milk, around 5.9 million pounds of soybean oil, around 15 million pounds of sugar and around 6.5 million pounds of pork from Indiana farmers.

The McDonald's McRib returns to Arizona after five years of absence.
The McDonald's McRib returns to Arizona after five years of absence.

In Indiana, agriculture plays a significant role in the state’s economy, as it contributes more than $31.2 billion in revue and provides 188,000 jobs to the state. Indiana has more than 55,000 farms with around 95 percent being family owned.

And according to statistics provided by Indiana Pork, in 2020, the state had more than 2,700 pork farms, which employed more than 14-thousand people and generated more than $1 billion in sales.

“We appreciate organizations like McDonald's that put pork at the center of their menu and really showcasing it to the customers,” Jeanette Merritt, director of checkoff programs at Indiana Pork, said.

“We represent our 3,000 pig farmers in Indiana, and we get excited every time they re-launch the McRib.

“Any time we have a major fast-food organization or any type of restaurant that wants to support Indiana farmers and feature pork is vital to our industry.”

Beyond the farmers of Indiana, the scientists of Indiana also play a major role in the economic system of swine sales.

Purdue College of Agriculture’s Swine Unit conducts research in the areas of swine nutrition, physiology, genetics, management, behavior and welfare. The department also owns the Swine Environmental Research Building which is a research facility unmatched in scale by any other swine facility in the U.S.

“This facility really allows us to look at the sort of mass balance and really look at all the ingredients that matter. Whether that’s in the grain or that’s in the air, or whether that’s in the pigs. All the nutrients that exits the facilities, so whether that’s in the pigs or air, it really captures all of it. It gives us a sensibility and do a real and true environmental footprint,” Scott Radcliffe, Purdue College of Agriculture Swine Unit extension specialist, said.

“We care about the environment and so I think part of agriculture’s job is to reduce our environmental footprint. And this facility allows us to document that we are doing that and look at new ways to continue to reduce our footprint.”

Starting Oct. 26, the McRib will be available for a limited time until Nov. 20. This might be the last year McDonald’s will have it available at their locations, if McDonald’s website is to be believed. “Get one while you can because this is the McRib Farewell Tour,” reads the McDonald’s website.

In the 1990’s, McDonald's said its McRib grew in popularity as a nationwide menu offering.
In the 1990’s, McDonald's said its McRib grew in popularity as a nationwide menu offering.

“Across Indiana, our customers eagerly await the McRib every year and we’re excited to celebrate its return and to salute the great work done here at Purdue and by farmers across Indiana,” said Blake Kosanovich, McDonald’s owner and operator.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: McDonald's, Purdue celebrate relaunch of McRib sandwich, salute farmers