Group honoured for sustainable beef effort

Group honoured for sustainable beef effort

Reading Time: < 1 minute The organization that brought together producers, food retailers, conservation groups, and others to create a system for producing sustainable beef has been honoured by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The efforts by the founding council and members of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef have resulted in “transformational change in the Canadian beef industry,” the cattle […] Read more

Stephen Hughes wasn’t reading from a script when the sustainable beef commercial was filmed at his Longview ranch — instead he was encouraged to just speak his mind.

Alberta ranchers hit the big screen and steal the show

A McDonald’s commercial that ran in movie 
houses across the country is getting rave reviews

Reading Time: 5 minutes You’re in a movie theatre, popcorn in hand, and the lights dim. You’re expecting another car or soft drink commercial but suddenly, there’s a rancher on your screen. You may even know him. It’s Stephen Hughes, and he’s talking about transparency in a McDonald’s commercial about beef sustainability. “I learned how many people go to […] Read more


A pilot program that pays producers who raise cattle according to a set of specific sustainable standards is catching the attention of other ranchers, says Anne Wasko, the new chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

‘It’s happening,’ says new chair of sustainable beef group

Interest in producing — and consuming — sustainable beef is growing, says Anne Wasko

Reading Time: 3 minutes Interest in producing sustainable beef is growing thanks to a pilot program that is paying producers who meet the standards laid out by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, says the organization’s new chair. “I think it’s happening,” said Anne Wasko. “In this business, change happens fairly slowly. But the dollars are out there — […] Read more

A McDonald’s Canada commercial (featuring its Angus burgers and the Calgary Stampede) prominently displays the CRSB logo.

There’s a new brand on Canadian beef

Beef from certified ranches or products containing 30 per cent of that beef can use new CRSB logo

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s already in use by McDonald’s Canadian division, but now other sellers of Canadian beef can use the official sustainable beef logo if they source that type of meat. Having an official logo is a significant milestone in the lengthy journey to make Canada a world leader in the certified sustainable beef movement. Over the […] Read more


Anne Wasko.

Wasko new chair of Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef

Reading Time: < 1 minute Anne Wasko is the new chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. The veteran cattle and beef market analyst works for Gateway Livestock Exchange in Taber and was the senior market analyst with Canfax for 21 years. She and her husband also run a VBP+ registered commercial cow-calf operation near Eastend, Sask., and have […] Read more

Want more environmentally friendly cows? One big way is to do everything you can to ensure they have calves.

Sustainable beef pilot continues to expand

The program has a new customer and is poised to expand into Ontario

Reading Time: < 1 minute The payment to producers fell slightly, but the sustainable beef pilot attracted a new restaurant chain and Ontario producers will soon be able to participate. The Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot project, launched last fall, tracks cattle and beef produced under certified sustainability standards from ranch to retailer. In the latest quarter, more than one […] Read more


McDonald’s is using this graphic to explain what ‘verified sustainable’ beef means and how it is produced. 
Cargill has been slaughtering and processing all the cattle in the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot.

McDonald’s move to label its burgers as sustainable hailed as a milestone

Initiative is a global first and opens the door for more cattle producers to be paid for their stewardship

Reading Time: 2 minutes McDonald’s Canada will soon be serving burgers made from certified sustainable beef — and that’s a major win for the country’s cattle sector, say farm leaders. “The big thing about this is the world is going in this direction because of consumer demand,” said Bob Lowe, vice-chair of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and a member […] Read more

A pilot program to promote sustainable beef has convinced her family to purchase more cattle produced that way for its feedlot, said Karleen Clark 
(second from left). She operates KCL Cattle Company with (left to right) husband Jared; Tanner and Celia Granberg (Clark’s sister); and their parents 
Les and Lisa Wall.

Producers can now take beef sustainability to the bank

Raising ‘certified sustainable’ beef earns producers a premium and McDonald’s is going all in

Reading Time: 4 minutes Four years after McDonald’s chose Canada to launch its landmark sustainable beef initiative, some producers and feedlots are happily cashing cheques for participating in that effort. And while the amounts so far have been fairly small, it’s a big plus for producers, say participants. “We started on that journey because we thought it was important […] Read more


If properly designed and maintained, older pens and handling facilities generally don’t need upgrades for sustainable beef certification.

Your facilities don’t have to be fancy to be good

Certification for sustainable beef requires having proper handling facilities, but most ranches have those

Reading Time: 4 minutes Thinking of producing certified sustainable beef, but worried your cattle-handling equipment is not up to standards? Don’t fret. “At entry level, if you have cattle it’s pretty hard not to have facilities that are working,” said rancher Stephen Hughes. The third-generation Longview rancher has been part of the Certified Sustainable Beef Production (CRSB) initiative right […] Read more

Having a set of measurable procedures and standards for sustainable beef makes Canada a global leader in the production of humane, environmentally friendly beef, says Fawn Jackson, executive director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

World’s first verified sustainable beef plan is ready to roll

It’s taken two years of work and looks much like McDonald’s pilot, 
but its creators say it’s a historic step forward

Reading Time: 4 minutes After two years of consultations and review, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has rolled out the official list of procedures and standards for producing beef in a humane, environmentally friendly way. And while the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework looks a lot like the one developed for McDonald’s 2014 pilot project, its launch is historic, […] Read more