Beef industry moves to satisfy consumer critics

‘Sustainable beef’ program will track cattle from farm to the slaughterhouse

Even with fastfood, consumers want to know where their food comes from, and how it was raised, and how the animals were treated.

Steaks sold at your local grocery store could be labelled “sustainable beef” as early as next year as the Canadian beef industry comes to grips with consumer demands to know where their food comes from and how it was grown.

The industry has also come under pressure by campaigns pressing consumers to eat less beef due to environmental and animal welfare concerns. But Alberta producers believe a new sustainable beef program can help them fend off these criticisms.

While “sustainability” is a buzzword that lacks meaning, a beef industry association backed by environmental groups, meat packers, producers and retailers has been defining the rules the industry must meet to source sustainable beef.

The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef expects to finalize the rules by the end of the year, making way for an audit program to track beef cattle from the farm to slaughterhouse.

Steaks, prime rib and other beef products that are produced in a way that satisfies the rules will have sustainable beef labels on grocery store packaging and restaurant menus as early as 2018.

A pilot project, revealed Tuesday at an annual Canadian beef industry conference in Calgary, is seeking producers to participate in an early round of the program to produce Tbones and other products that meet the emerging criteria.

“Even with fast-food, consumers want to know where their food comes from, and how it was raised, and how the animals were treated,” said Emily Murray, a general manager at beef processor Cargill Ltd., which is involved in the pilot.

Draft rules for the program consider environmental concerns, such as emissions and wastewater quality from beef production, along with efforts to reduce animal pain and distress, including humane slaughter methods, among other factors.

Murray, who handles McDonald’s Canada’s beef business for Cargill, said the program doesn’t state how the industry must meet the rules, including whether producers should use antibiotics or growth hormones, but it lays out some ground rules for animal and environmental protections.

Ranchers whose cattle make it through the verification process will receive financial credits, paid for by companies that will apply the sustainable beef label on their products.

McDonald’s Canada and Swiss Chalet, a division of Cara Operations, have signed on for the pilot.

Bob Lowe, chairman of Alberta Beef Producers, said support from environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund is necessary in order to secure public support in the face of criticisms from healthy eating gurus and animal welfare advocates.

“We’ve got to put ourselves in a position where people understand the value of cattle on the land and understand the health benefits (of beef),” Lowe said.

Greg Bowie, who runs a cattle ranch in the Ponoka area north of Red Deer, expects ranchers will be interested in training that will be offered through the sustainable beef program, and will educate producers on rules and methods.

But he believes there will be “considerably less” interest among producers to subject their farms to regular audits in order to become a verified source of sustainable beef, pointing to big time commitments.

For his part, Bowie participated in McDonald’s Canada’s sustainable beef pilot and plans to take part in the industry-wide program. He believes it’s in his interests to prove his farm follows generally accepted rules on animal welfare and environmental protection.

“It will raise the average value of our product because the demand will be higher across the entire beef chain,” he said.