diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/--env.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/--env.rb
index edee45a38b..f8dcb0f47f 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/--env.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/--env.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ module Homebrew extend self
   def __env
     ENV.extend(HomebrewEnvExtension)
     ENV.setup_build_environment
+    ENV.universal_binary if ARGV.build_universal?
     dump_build_env ENV
   end