Unfettered capitalism caught between a rock and a hard place.

McDonalds recently announced the company is transitioning to “sustainable beef.” The definition of this breakthrough concept is now being formulated by a group that includes Walmart, Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden and Red Lobster), Cargill, Tyson Foods, the pharmaceutical company Merck, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The announcement coincided with an article in Bloomberg Businessweek proposing a tax on meat for health and environmental reasons.