date:Nov 23, 2012
Fast food company McDonald's is spending millions of pounds on a new farming initiative to try to ensure a steady supply of ingredients for its restaurants.
The firm has joined with farmers and agricultural experts in setting up the programme, Farm Forward.
McDonald's sourced foodstuffs from 17,500 British and Irish farmers last year, spending 320 million.
That compares with 269 million in 2009, and the company expects to feed more than three million customers a day.
The chain's new food-s