A HOTTER PLANET PUTS THE RESTAURANT SUPPLY CHAIN AT RISK CONTINUED...
SPECIAL REPORT
uses regenerative beef. Chipotle has taken numerous steps to source its products from regenerative agriculture sources. So has Taco Bell, which is working with Cargill and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to improve ranchers’ farming efforts out West. “It’s really anchored around environmental protection, species and habitat, some water remediation, some climate and it has an element of making sure rancher livelihood fits in there as well,” said Jon Hixson, chief sustainability officer for parent company Yum Brands. For Yum, which is adding restaurants globally at a breakneck pace, taking steps to strengthen the supply chain is important. “For the planet, for the climate and for the resilience and the capacity of the business,” Hixon said, “it all has to fit together.” There are legitimate reasons for these brands to take these steps that go beyond working to ensure they can source enough product going forward: Customers like it. Each of those aforementioned chains has outperformed average sales results for the broader restaurant industry. Last year, they on average grew at double the rate of a typical restaurant chain on the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Still, fixing the supply chain remains a long-term issue. Many of the ranchers working the most- sustainable practices have a limited market, and most of the major chains are supplied by larger companies for whom taking those steps is expensive and complicated. Carter Country Meats went to a direct-to-consumer model during the pandemic but next year plans to sell its meats to restaurants and other companies. “The supply chain is not set up to suit them,” Green said of ranchers that Audubon works with, such as RC Carter.
One solution in recent years has been to replace beef and chicken with plant-based substitutes. But that market isn’t there, certainly not in the way it is for those animal proteins. And it’s not entirely evident that plant-based meat substitutes would actually be better for the environment over the long- term. That’s why many advocates believe regenerative agriculture is the answer, by focusing on soil health and restoring balance to the ecosystem. The plants and trees can then draw down some of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is trapping the heat. The ranchers themselves also practice good grazing habits, moving cattle around much in the same way that bison roamed the western plains before overhunting wiped them out. “You can use your animals to increase biodiversity,” said Farley Green, marketing manager for Audubon Conservation Ranching. The program encourages ranchers to use regenerative techniques to improve the ecology of grasslands. Some restaurant companies such as Taco Bell owner Yum Brands have worked with Audubon on the effort, which is largely aimed at restoring the habitat of grassland birds, the population of which has declined 53% since the 1970s—thanks to grassland destruction. But that also helps with the cattle and with climate change. And a growing number of chains are sourcing their beef and other products from farms and ranches that use regenerative methods. Sweetgreen, for instance, recently debuted Caramelized Garlic Steak on its menu, the first time it has added beef to its vegetable-heavy set of offerings. The fast casual believes that sourcing more ingredients using regenerative agriculture will offset whatever carbon is emitted by the cattle. The burger chain Hopdoddy, meanwhile, uses regeneratively raised, grass- fed beef for its burgers. Shake Shack, the New York-based burger chain, also
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS JANUARY 2025
PHOTO: ENVATO
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