McCain Foods honours French fry by committing to sustainable practices

July 14, 2020, Toronto, Ont. – McCain Foods Ltd. honoured National French Fry Day on July 13 by pledging to improve the sustainability of its products with a key focus on creating a more sustainable approach to potato farming.

“The global demand for food has never been greater, and farmers are being challenged with producing more with less, while facing increasingly challenging weather patterns due to climate change, and growing food in soil that is deteriorating,” says company president and CEO Max Koeune. “Farmers are at the heart of our country and food system, and the food challenges we’ve experienced during COVID-19 could only get worse if we don’t start taking action.”

Key to this commitment is building three Farms of the Future to showcase how regenerative farming practices and the latest agricultural technology and innovations, can be implemented at scale. In partnership with leading academics and suppliers, each will focus on demonstrating that more sustainable practices can also create a more financially viable future for farming, while at the same time increasing food production.

These innovative commercial farms will be built in three different countries with three different climates around the world. The first Farm of the Future will be developed in New Brunswick, where McCain was founded.

”We’ve been working in partnership with many growers for generations, and this is a next step in ensuring the future of this important industry, and a Canadian food staple,” says Koeune.

The Farms of the Future program was announced as part of McCain’s first sustainability report. Titled Be Good. Do Good., the report summarizes McCain’s sustainability responsibilities, what it is currently doing and where it plans to go.

Other key tenets include an environmental commitment to produce zero waste to landfill, use 100-per -cent renewable energy and to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.

Alongside, is a commitment to produce good food, including plans to reduce sodium content in products by 15 per cent by 2025, providing clear and transparent nutritional information, and removing artificial ingredients.

“I hope everyone can celebrate the fun of the French fry with friends and family knowing that they are supporting Canadian Farmers,” says Koeune. “We’re committed to making these products planet-friendly – and we will.”