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
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
First the cows, then the grass, and then the soil
Winner of top environmental award for cattle producers says stewardship is a journey that never ends
Reading Time: 2 minutes ‘Sustainable’ isn’t a word that finds a lot of favour with this year’s winner of one of the provincial farm sector’s leading environmental awards. “I prefer to use the word regenerative,” Ian Murray says in a video portraying the work he and wife Carman have done at Shoestring Ranch. “I don’t want our ranch to […] Read more
Roundtable for Sustainable Beef wants your input
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is seeking feedback on its sustainability indicators for beef processing to ensure sustainability challenges and opportunities for this sector are addressed. The indicators reflect what will be measured to verify sustainable practices. The consultation runs until Aug. 29, and a link can be found on the home page of […] Read more
Burger King pledges to end deforestation by 2030
Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — The owner of Burger King has pledged to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains by 2030 but scientists say the company is not moving fast enough to stop its hamburgers from destroying rainforests and the communities who depend on them. Restaurant Brands International, one of the world’s […] Read more
Study finds organic’s sustainability ‘context-dependent’
When weighed for sustainability, the purported benefits and costs of organic agriculture can actually “vary heavily” from case to case, a new University of British Columbia study finds. The UBC study, titled “Many shades of gray: The context-dependent performance of organic agriculture,” published Friday in the U.S. journal Science Advances, sets out to “systematically review […] Read more
Keeping land in grass has a side benefit
Young beef producers need affordable access to grassland if the industry is going to grow
Reading Time: 2 minutes The beef industry has been struggling to retain and attract new producers while the average age of farmers, at 54, keeps creeping up. The next generation of cattle producers might be looking for something different. The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) released the National Beef Sustainability Assessment and Strategy this fall. The industry garnered […] Read more
Canadian ‘verified sustainable’ beef is still on the menu
McDonald’s headline-grabbing pilot is over, but the effort to boost the cattle industry’s environmental and welfare credentials continues
Reading Time: 3 minutes It won’t happen in a hurry, but the effort to create a Canadian ‘verified sustainable’ beef brand is moving along and will reach an important milestone by the end of the year. When McDonald’s Canada ended its groundbreaking sustainable beef pilot project last year, the torch was passed to an industry initiative called the Canadian […] Read more
The meaning of sustainability depends on your point of view
When you talk about sustainable agriculture, you need to look not just at the farm but what is happening all around it
Reading Time: 4 minutes Redefining sustainability Battered about like a mariner’s ship at sea, the “sustainable” world is getting frayed at the edges. It leaks the slow leak, one that was built in agriculture on the idealism of creating a pathway to consumers but rested on that assurance without producer reward. Certainly, the journey is worth examining as we […] Read more
Produce sector needs help with CFIA changes
Low margins in the industry leave little capacity to cover rising research costs if an existing formula is scrapped
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sweeping regulatory changes at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and limited funds for research are among the challenges facing fruit and vegetable growers, says Ron Lemaire, president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association. “The foundation for Canada’s fresh produce supply chain is made up of approximately 25,000 small-, medium- and large-size farms that produce vegetables, […] Read more
Green jobs in agriculture eligible for wage subsidy
Protecting and restoring ecosystems, reducing energy use, producing organic products and limiting greenhouse gases qualify for the program
Reading Time: < 1 minute Employers in the ag sector with an environmental focus are being urged to consider a program that subsidizes the salaries of new graduates by up to $13,500 per year. “Agriculture is a natural fit for this green jobs initiative,” says Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, executive director of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. “Canada’s primary producers are […] Read more
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