ACTION ALERT
Tell McDonald’s: It’s Time to Go Deforestation-Free!

Today, on National Fast Food Day, we need your help to turn up the heat on McDonald’s. Let’s take to Twitter to publicly call McDonald’s out.

As our report Donuts, Deodorant, Deforestation: Scoring America’s Top Brands on Their Palm Oil Commitments documented, a new standard for responsible palm oil—one that protects tropical forests and our climate—has emerged. As tropical forests are cleared to make way for plantations for palm oil production, carbon is released into the atmosphere, driving global warming and shrinking habitats for endangered species. Tropical deforestation currently accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s heat-trapping emissions.

More than 28,000 UCS supporters like you told six of America’s top brands that there’s no excuse to continue buying palm oil that pollutes our atmosphere and drives forest destruction.

And five out of six listened! Thanks to your letters, Dunkin’ Brands (owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins), Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and PepsiCo released or strengthened their palm oil policies. Everyone, that is, except McDonald’s.

McDonald’s continues to use palm oil that could be wreaking havoc on our environment. As the largest fast food company in the world, McDonald’s should set the bar high and make a firm commitment to use only deforestation-free palm oil. Instead, they continue to stall.

Join our mass mobilization by tweeting our graphic telling McDonald’s that—for the sake of our atmosphere, tropical forests, and endangered species—the time to act is now. If you’re not on Twitter, you can still get involved.

Together, we are holding corporations accountable and transforming the palm oil industry.

Sincerely,

Miriam Swaffer
Outreach Coordinator
Tropical Forest & Climate Initiative
Union of Concerned Scientists

P.S. McDonald’s isn’t the only fast food laggard who continues to use palm oil that could be wreaking havoc on our environment. Join nearly 50,000 UCS supporters in telling the largest global fast food chains—including McDonald’s, Burger King, Yum! Brands, Wendy’s, Subway, CKE Restaurants (Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., La Salsa, and Green Burrito), Starbucks, Dairy Queen, and Domino’s—that for the sake of our atmosphere, tropical forests, and endangered species, now is the time to adopt strong deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil policies!