That's actually quite an old story. McDonalds has been a leader in animal welfare, food safety and environmental issues for years, for all the good it does them with those who see them as a symbol for all that is evil in the world. Check this site out. Follow the links.

Areas where they have been taking the lead include new rules on animal byproducts in animal feed to avoid Mad Cow Disease, even though it has even not manifested here in the U.S.; reduction or elimination of antibiotics in feed, a policy of never using beef from rainforest land--despite constant accusations to the contrary--and an insistence on using local suppliers worldwide for its restaurants*. As a major customer of meat and other food products, their rules often drive the entire industry, to everyone's benefit. None of this was done under any kind of government coercion. You hear about any of this before?

McDonalds is in a highly competitive, cutthroat business. The customer is God. This is how the free market works.

Of course, radical environmentalists, who I have proven are far less interested in the environment than they are in the destruction of capitalism, pay no attention to any of this. So they march with their stupid signs. The real environmentalists have recognized McDonalds' efforts, as can be noted by some of the links above, which are to environmental sites.

*Actually, this latter policy means that even if they did use rainforest land for grazing, you could probably only get a burger made from rainforest beef in Brazil.