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| Duane A. Lienemann UNL Extension Educator |
You may remember the push for businesses like McDonalds and other restaurants to obtain their beef from producers who are “sustainable”. They then had to form a set of guidelines to just what sustainable would mean to them, their consumers, and I guess ultimately to the beef producers. Beef sector stakeholders now have a definition of what sustainable beef is after leading industry organizations came to an agreement at the Global Conference on Sustainable Beef this past week. I have my own take on sustainability, but let’s take a look at what the experts agreed on!
Drumroll please…. The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) announced this week that 97% of its membership has overwhelmingly approved global Principles and Criteria for defining sustainable beef and beef production practices (http://www.grsbeef.org/ ) Members of the global beef community, including representatives from every segment of the supply chain, have worked on this collaborative effort for more than a year-and-a-half to identify and define the core principles for sustainable beef production and delivery. I am surprised they actually came up with a common definition, which includes five core principles and detailed criteria for sustainable beef, and supposedly finding common ground and identifying a clear path forward to work to improve the sustainability of the global beef chain. I guess we will see.
The five core principles include: 1) Natural Resources; 2) People and the Community; 3) Animal Health & Well-being; 4) Food; 5) Efficiency and Innovation. GRSB then goes on to define “Sustainable Beef” as “A socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable product that prioritizes: Planet (relevant principles: Natural Resources, Efficiency and Innovation, People and the Community); People (Relevant principles: People and the Community and Food); Animals (Relevant principle: Animal Health and Welfare, Efficiency and Innovation); and Progress (Relevant principles: Natural Resources, People and the Community, Animal Health and Welfare, Food, Efficiency and Innovation).
After a year and a half of negotiations, the approved ‘principles and criteria’ are supposed to deliver ‘clarity’ on sustainability. The next step is to work on local and national levels, to identify where ‘improvements and efficiencies can be achieved’. We in the beef industry know that mandated practices or a single, ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to beef production will not work for our producers not only here in Nebraska, the USA or around the globe. Instead, I would hope that this group would work with the regional and national roundtables as they identify locally-focused solutions to meet the unique challenges they face in each region. Cattle raising in Arizona is completely different than in Nebraska…. You get the point.
Basically, McDonalds started this whole thing a couple of years ago announcing that by the year 2016 they will only purchase and serve beef that qualifies as “Sustainable Beef”. After the announcement of the new definition McDonald’s, is ramping up efforts to reduce beef’s impact within the supply chain. They have indicated that ‘the race is on’ within McDonald’s, a GRSB member, as to who can start sourcing the first sustainable beef products. Now who could that be? http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/sustainability/signature_programs/beef-sustainability.html
Bob Langert, who is in charge of McDonald’s Global Sustainability effort, has indicated that all food items sold in their stores would be sustainably sourced but with “beef being priority number one, two and three.” He also indicated that sustainability efforts are based on collaborations within their respective industries. “We want to do this right and to do it right we have to collaborate and get the right measures in place. We are determined to let science lead the way, but we are also determined to start purchasing in 2016.” I would assume that he is referring to beef, and if so, is he also suggesting that we do not do it right now? That we suck? I doubt this guy has ever been out on a farm and ranch and he comes up with the assumption that our farmers and ranchers don’t do it right and do not strive for sustainability! I beg his pardon!!!
I don’t know a beef producer who does not try to be sustainable, not only with income but in managing their resources, the land and their cattle. This not only makes me cringe, curl up my fist but bristle at the thought that this is probably more of a marketing ploy to bolster their sagging share of the restaurant business. Once again pushing the blame and the supposed cure on the shoulders of the cattle producers…. Or is it simply a ploy to get cattle out of other countries who they assume are raising the cattle more sustainably? I leave that up to you to make your own analysis. If the newest advertising thrust my McDonalds is indication, my guess it is a marketing ploy. Oh, they never use marketing ploys!!!!
Oh, if you haven’t heard, McDonalds has a new advertising slogan: "Lovin' Beats Hatin”! No I am not kidding, really, that is the new motto or at least slogan. Their advertising executives say that “Lovin' Beats Hatin' will not replace ---duh-duh-duh-duh ---“I'm Lovin' It,” but only aims to spread happiness in the face of Internet hate. Love is better than hate—now that's a sentiment we can behind, right? Who's going to say "Hatin' Beats Lovin'"? Not me or I doubt you. But I might ask…Where is the love from McDonalds to the beef producer, rancher, farmer or beef feedlot owners? Even with the perceived need to prove to folks that our beef production is “sustainable” I think that in looking ahead, beef, as well as other animal proteins, has a bright future. Amazing gains in productivity have allowed the livestock industry to considerably reduce resource use and greenhouse gas emissions over the last century. With a culture of continuous improvement and access to technologies that improve productivity, we can feed the future population using even fewer resources.
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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