“I am thrilled to represent youth in the beef industry on a council that brings together such diverse perspectives from across the sector,” wrote Laura Buss in a Feb. 9 news release.

Last year, the CRSB established its youth councillor position — a non-voting board position geared toward youth participation in the organization.

Laura Buss, who grew up on a cow-calf operation north of Westlock, Alta., was recommended through a nomination process in coordination with the Canadian Cattle Youth Council the CRSB said in a Feb. 9 news release.

“The funding support to travel and meet with CRSB members in-person is particularly exciting, as I’ve learned that these face-to-face collaborations are where the most impactful work happens,” Buss said.

In her role, Buss will:

• Participate in CRSB Council discussions,
• Bring forward youth perspectives,
• Serve as a liaison between the CRSB and the Canadian Cattle Youth Council (CCYC),
• Co-chair at least one CRSB Council meeting per year
• Contribute thought leadership across the Canadian beef industry and in youth networks.

Buss received her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Alberta followed by a Master of Science in Animal Biosciences from the University of Guelph. Her graduate studies focused on gut development and antibiotic use in dairy calves.

The post McDonald’s, Cargill fund youth councillor position with Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The Canadian livestock sector contributes about 4.8 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions produced in this country, said Sarah Klopatek, director of sustainability research and development with JBS USA.

Why it matters: The Canadian beef sector’s 2030 targets include maintaining sequestered carbon in grasslands, plus an extra 3.4 million tonnes sequestered per year, and dropping greenhouse gas emission intensity by 33 per cent.

On a world scale, that is a decently low number, she told attendees at the annual general meeting of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef in Calgary in late September. Still, she added, more can always be done in Canada and around the world to reduce the impact agriculture has on the environment.

“Sustainability is a journey and not a destination,” she said.

Klopatek cited pressure from the public and various sectors of the food and finance industry for farmers and ranchers to improve their practices environmentally.

In the livestock sector, there have been significant gains due to improvements in livestock genetics, nutrition and management, she added.

“For example, Canada is leading the world in terms of efficient beef production, according to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization,” she said, referring to a world map, which showed Canada producing 400 to 450 kilograms of beef per animal compared to some parts of the world that only produce 50 to 100 kg per head.

If producers can produce more meat from fewer animals, it reduces the environmental footprint.

“And there is new technology and advances coming along every day which can help Canadian beef producers improve production efficiency at home. And perhaps that technology can be used to help other countries improve their beef production efficiency as well.”

Heading for net zero?

Klopatek, who studied at the University of California-Davis and now lives in Colorado, said getting to net-zero emissions may never be possible, but it is something to work toward.

It’s a goal that organizations and farmers are also pondering. In September, researchers at the University of Manitoba were promised $7.6 million to explore barriers and necessary steps toward net-zero farming.

Hovering in the background is Ottawa’s own goal for Canada to reach net zero by 2050, which has led farm groups like the Grain Growers of Canada to launch industry-specific strategic road maps to curb emissions in their sectors.

Who’s on the hook?

There is a perception within industry that consumers are the big driver behind the push for greater sustainability, Klopatek said, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Surveys show that, while consumers may say sustainability is important, they aren’t necessarily willing to pay more for sustainably produced food products.

According to the federal 2023 Survey on Consumer Perceptions of Food, 68 per cent of respondents said they looked for environmentally sustainable foods at least sometimes, but only 53 per cent said they would pay more for them, a decrease of 10 per cent from the previous year.

Klopatek said the bigger push is coming from the financial sector, which is urging all companies to work on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a net zero economy. She pointed to BlackRock, one of the world’s leading finance and investment consulting firms.

In a 2022 open letter to executives of companies that BlackRock clients invest in, BlackRock co-founder and chief executive officer Larry Fink said, “I believe the decarbonizing of the global economy is going to create the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. It will also leave behind the companies that don’t adapt, regardless of what industry they are in.”

In the same letter, he said his firm is “asking companies to set short-, medium-, and long-term targets for greenhouse gas reductions.”

Getting technical

Klopatek said it is important for beef producers to understand what the numbers represent, and there is a difference between direct and indirect emissions.

The number cited for Canada’s livestock industry (4.8 per cent of Canada’s emissions) reflects enteric emissions. Those are produced by livestock digestive systems or are related to manure management and are direct emissions.

However on a broader or global scale, the agriculture and agri-food industries produce about 30 per cent of the total emissions, she said. That number includes direct as well as indirect emissions such as those related to burning fossil fuels used for crop and livestock feed production, land use changes, operating farm machinery and transportation, emissions from processing and other activities.

“I like to think of direct emissions as the apple and the combination of direct and indirect emissions as the apple pie,” said Klopatek. “So as we talk about environmental footprint, we need to know what the numbers reflect. Is it the apple or the apple pie?”

The movement toward sustainability and reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint is also taking place with the backdrop of a growing world population.

Klopatek noted that, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the demand for meat and protein will continue to grow over the next 25 years. The organization forecasted that, between 2005 and 2050, global beef demand would grow by 66 per cent, pork would rise by 43 per cent, poultry would go up by 121 per cent, eggs would jump by 65 per cent and sheep and lamb product demand was expected to rise by 92 per cent.

That’s the difference between the world producing 64 million tonnes of beef in 2005 and producing 106 million tonnes of beef by 2050.

“So the challenge for the livestock industry is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time producing more food,” said Klopatek.

And while Canada and the U.S. livestock industries have relatively low greenhouse gas emissions, that’s not the case for cattle in Brazil and parts of Africa, which she said can have emissions 10 to 50 times greater.

“It is in those developing countries where there is the greatest opportunity to make improvements in increasing beef production efficiency and reducing GHG emissions.”

Staying the course

Klopatek said several production and management practices can help reduce emissions, but the big three are livestock genetics, livestock nutrition and livestock management.

Sustainability is about more than just the carbon footprint.

“Producing beef is definitely part of the sustainability story,” she said.”The Canadian beef industry has reduced its carbon footprint by 15 per cent — the apple pie of emissions —over the past 10 years.

“We continue to fine tune our journey in producing a better beef animal that has higher yield, higher dressing percentage, produces more food for people, while at the same time reducing emissions, using less land and less water per kilogram of beef.

“It’s not just about reducing carbon. When we talk about sustainability we have to look at a number of factors — the bigger picture.”

The post Good work done on beef sustainability, but more left to do: researcher appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The industry has reduced the greenhouse gas emissions required to produce one kilogram of beef (boneless and consumed) by 15 per cent since 2014, according to the recently released National Beef Sustainability Assessment (NBSA) and Strategy report.

“It’s exciting to see the 15 per cent reduction in GHG emissions intensity, which puts us on track to achieve the 33 per cent reduction 2030 goal that the industry has set,” wrote Ryan Beierbach, chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB),the publishers of the report, in a news release.

Increased efficiencies in the cattle-growing process are largely credited for this GHG reduction.

The assessment reflects three years of scientific analysis highlighting the Canadian beef sector’s progress between 2014 and 2021 on sustainability factors including GHG emissions, biodiversity, carbon storage, human health and safety, animal care, economic contributions and more.

It also includes sustainability strategies that identify areas for continuous improvement.

“The Canadian beef sector is committed to transparency and continuous improvement in sustainability,” Beierbach said.

“We look forward to further collaborations and innovations to make a positive impact and meet our goals for the Canadian beef industry’s social, economic and environmental performance.”

The report also reveals that land used for beef cattle production is estimated to store 1.9 billion tonnes of soil organic carbon, or 40 per cent of total soil carbon across the country’s ag landscape.

According to the CRSB, this is equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from over two billion cars.

“This report on the Canadian beef industry’s advancements in sustainability is an important tool to track the sector’s progress towards its 2030 goals,” wrote federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay in a news release.

“We can all be proud of the industry’s commitment to taking action to reduce their environmental footprint without compromising their high standards and commitment to quality they’re known for.”

Land used for beef production plays a critical role in wildlife habitat, according to the assessment. That land provides the majority of habitat wildlife needs for both reproduction (74 per cent) and feeding (55 per cent) when all of Canada’s crop and pastureland is considered.

Despite an overall loss of wildlife habitat on Canada’s pasture and cropland, beef’s share in what remains has increased.

“(The assessment) highlights the important role that beef production plays for preserving critical wildlife habitat and Canada’s grasslands,” wrote Brad Downey, chair of the CRSB’s scientific advisory committee.

“This report also enables transparency of the beef industry to the public and confirms significant progress based on sound data that sets the stage for meeting many of the Canadian beef industry’s 2030 goals through purposeful, science-based actions.”

Conversations around farmer stress and mental health have grown louder in the process increasing awareness, reads the report.

The stigma of mental health is decreasing, resources to support farmers are increasing, and 96 per cent of beef producers reported following at least one stress-management practice, it says.

Animal care continues to be a top priority for the Canadian beef industry. Seventy-nine per cent of respondents using antimicrobials declared that veterinary and/or label instructions on how to administer the product are systematically followed.

The report also includes some sales and macroeconomic data. Demand for Canadian beef remains strong with Canadian consumers (up five per cent) and around the world (16 per cent increase).

For every worker employed by farm-level production of cattle in Canada, 2.5 workers are employed either directly or indirectly in the Canadian economy. And for every worker employed in the Canadian meat packing industry, another 3.4 workers are employed, including direct and indirect employment.

The Canadian cattle industry contributes $51.5 billion in the production of goods and services, $21.8 billion to the Canadian GDP and $11.7 billion in labour income.

The report can be found online (crsb.ca/nbsa).

The post GHG reductions highlight Canadian beef sustainability report appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

On May 24, the company announced its FCC Sustainability Incentive Program. The program promises a yearly payment to producers who are certified through the CRSB, up to maximum of $2,000. Producers can reapply for the payment each year that the program is in force, according to FCC.

The CRSB has more demand for certified sustainable beef than can be reliably supplied by the current value chain. The roundtable says incentive programs like the one just announced by Farm Credit Canada might help close the gap.

Curtis Grainger, FCC’s director of lending products and sustainability, said actual value of those payments will vary, based on a calculation using the amount of lending a client has with FCC.

The program will extend both to new CRSB-certified clients, as well as those already partway through paying back loans, Grainger added. The program will, however, initially be more focused on those who already have CRSB certification.

“It takes producers about six to nine months to get certified, so this first launch is all about essentially recognizing people for all the great things they’ve done,” Grainger said. “And then what we’re kind of hoping is that as time goes on here, it gives (other) producers that opportunity to also get certified.”

A group of CRSB-certified producers had participated in a pilot of the program prior to the May 24 announcement.

CRSB chair Anne Wasko suggested that the incentive program may drive up participation in the roundtable’s framework and support the certified sustainable value chain.

“Any time you’ve got an incentive, however that may be, whether that’s on the market side or whether it’s, in this case, on the financial side in terms of loans… it tends to drive more interest in the certification program, or at least that’s what we anticipate,” she said. “I think as we go down the road here, incentive programs are going to be part and parcel.”

Wasko noted that gaps in the value chain, which limit the supply of beef eligible for a CRSB claim, are largely with the number of certified cow-calf operators.

The roundtable also hopes the partnership will open the door to similar incentive programs from other stakeholders.

“This is great because it’s the first financial institution to recognize customers,” Wasko said. “So I would love this to be a launching point for other financial institutions. That would be super. We continue to see processing plants come on with various programs and it would be great to see more there.”

There has been significant interest in similar programming, Wasko said.

Under the CRSB framework, farmers derive a premium for cattle born, raised and processed within the network of farms, backgrounding operations, feedlots and processors/packers that have been audited to the framework’s standards. Meat from the value chain can then be sold with a CRSB claim to companies that have committed to buying meat bearing that claim.

Premises that want to get certified can turn to three auditing bodies recognized by the roundtable: Verified Beef Production Plus, Where Food Comes From Canada, and the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Program. Once confirmed that they meet the standards — which include measures on natural resource management, social respect, animal welfare, food safety and efficiency — participants undergo regular audits to maintain their status.

“Many producers may already have the sustainable practices in place to meet the standard,” the CRSB website reads.

As of June 3, 2021, the roundtable registered 1,332 certified farms, accounting for about 17 per cent of Canada’s beef herd. Eight companies, including major retailers and restaurant chains, had signed up to buy meat with a CRSB claim, and 17 million pounds of beef with a claim had been sold since the framework’s launch in 2018.

Future FCC programs

FCC has said that the partnership with the CRSB may be only the first of such programs.

In the May 24 release, FCC vice-president of marketing, Todd Klink, said that the company intends to build “incentive programs for other sectors in the future.”

“The CRSB is a really great place for FCC to start,” Grainger said. “And that’s because it has an established process set up that producers can get verified through.

“We’re looking for opportunities to partner and support other industry-led sustainability initiatives and we’re going to continue exploring different ways we can support customers and the incentive for beef producers is really just the start,” he added.

Eligible producers can apply for the program online at fcc.ca/sustainabilityprograms. Grainger estimates that an application would take five to 10 minutes.

“It’s really quick,” he said. “The producers have already done the hard work in getting certified already, so we wanted to make sure our incentive program… is super quick and easy.”

The post FCC launches sustainable beef incentive appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) says that 5.6 million pounds of beef were sold from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 with a CRSB framework claim. The framework lays out sustainability standards for farms, feedlots, processors and others, and audits facilities to ensure they’re meeting those standards, while tracking cattle through the resulting certified sustainable value chain.

The 5.6 million pounds represent a 17 per cent jump over the previous year, when 4.8 million pounds of meat were sold with a claim.

Why it matters: Canada’s certified sustainable beef value chain saw volume growth, thanks to five more companies committing to actively source from it.

The smoothing of pandemic-driven value chain issues, which the beef sector in general struggled with in 2020 thanks to processing slowdowns, may have played somewhat into that increase, CRSB chair Anne Wasko said. At the same time, she said, demand for certified meat was likely the main driving factor.

“This is certainly a reflection of the end-user level,” she said.

Several new end-users joined the list of businesses drawing from the certified value chain this year.

In May, Walmart Canada announced it would start using the CRSB’s ‘mass balance’ mark on Your Fresh Market branded beef patties, the first retail business to do so (Loblaw Companies previously announced the purchase of one million pounds of certified beef, but is not using a claim mark). The mark denotes that at least 30 per cent of beef in that product came from CRSB-certified farms.

Walmart was also joined by B.C.-based Intercity Packers (the first to offer certified beef via home grocery delivery), Shark Club Sports Bar and Grill, Gordon Choice (the first boxed beef program to make such a claim), and Centennial Farm Service (the first premium beef brand with a claim).

Those businesses add their names to McDonald’s Canada, Harvey’s and Chop Steakhouse and Bar, which were already using a claim mark.

“When you’ve got more end-users, drawing more product through, I think that’s kind of a key reflection of that increased growth from a demand perspective,” Wasko said.

The roundtable also added a third auditing body to the framework, bringing in the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Program to provide audit services to Ontario feedlots in December 2020.

Wasko says she expects the addition of the Ontario organization will help draw interest from that province.

Verified Beef Production Plus, which provides audits for producers and Where Food Comes From, servicing producers and processors, remains as other auditing bodies.

Certified operations have also jumped. As of June 30, 2021, a total of 1,332 farms and ranches had been audited and certified to CRSB standards.

Audits this year were much smoother than the year previously, when the industry as a whole scrambled to adjust to pandemic conditions. As a result of COVID-19, the CRSB instituted an exemption, which allowed audits to be done remotely. That exemption has been extended, although Wasko noted that the process is more established and therefore smoother this year.

“When we talked to the certification bodies that do that for the CRSB, whether it’s VBP+ or Where Food Comes From or Ontario Corn Fed (Beef Quality Assurance Program), those processes are, I wouldn’t say back to normal, but back to ‘business will stream ahead,’” she said.

By the end of the year, the number of audited processors, likewise, had grown. Five processors (Cargill High River, Cargill Guelph, JBS Canada, Atlantic Beef Products and Harmony Beef) are currently certified.

Including beef sold in the last year, about 14 million pounds have been sold with a CRSB claim since 2018.

Framework update

The coming year will be a reset of sorts for the organization.

The CRSB has announced reviews and updates for the organization’s business plan, benchmarks and the certification framework itself.

“Key” benchmarking work will provide a critical data piece for the CRSB’s future work, Wasko said, informing estimates on environmental metrics of the industry as a whole. A producer survey has been launched and will run through the rest of 2021.

The last time that kind of data was collected was in 2016. At that time, the report was used to calculate estimations on greenhouse gas contribution from cattle to the country’s emissions, cattle water use, land use numbers.

“This is a benchmark report that gives us all that critical data to talk about our industry to the world, the elected officials,” Wasko said.

“This is a huge foundational piece that we’re updating, or just starting the process. It’s going to take us all of next year to get it done,” she added.

A review of the certification program is separate, according to Wasko. Framework updates will take place in 2022-23, according to the organization’s annual report, while initial steps of the review are being taken now. That review will begin with a comparison of the framework to other programs.

Stakeholder consultations will also inform the review. The CRSB Framework committee has already held an initial workshop and performed 16 stakeholder interviews, chair Greg Bowie said during the organization’s annual meeting in late September.

An online survey was also launched in July.

Challenges

There is still significant work ahead for the CRSB, Wasko said.

Pitching the value of the program, for example, is an ongoing conversation and is one of the major questions still faced by the roundtable.

“Everybody has a different idea of what that value is to them on an individual basis,” she said. “I think there’s certainly lots of work to do.”

Other potential breakdowns include technical or communications gaps.

The CRSB estimates about 17 per cent of Canada’s cattle herd is certified with the roundtable’s program.

“I think most of us would like to see that number higher,” Wasko said, arguing that uptake is important for the CRSB to send signals for other businesses considering CRSB involvement.

The post Sustainable beef interest hits new peak appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The roundtable launched a producer survey in late September.

Responses will be part of the roundtable’s benchmarking efforts and will provide updated numbers to estimates calculated by the CRSB following the last data collection in 2016.

Previous survey responses played into the CRSB’s estimates on things like greenhouse gas emissions or water use associated with the cattle industry.

CRSB chair Anne Wasko said those numbers are then used in the industry’s conversations with government and businesses.

“This is that report that we use to tell people, ‘this is what the beef industry numbers are in terms of those environmental-type numbers,” Wasko said.

The CRSB hopes to draw at least 500 respondents.

“We want everybody, even if you have nothing to do with the certification program,” Wasko said. “We want as many producers as possible, because this is telling the picture of the Canadian beef industry — from coast to coast, from small to large, from cow-calf to feedlot, everything.”

The survey is available on the CRSB’s website, under the “Sustainability Benchmarking” tab and will run throughout the rest of 2021.

Surveys will take about half an hour to complete, according to the CRSB.

The post Sustainable beef body asks for farmer input appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

On May 10, Walmart Canada announced that beef patties from the Your Fresh Market brand will add an on-package product claim based on standards from the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB). The brand will now feature the CRSB’s “mass balance” claim label, the company said — the first time such an on-product CRSB claim will appear on grocery shelves.

Why it matters: Restaurants have been the typical customers for CRSB certified beef, but 2020 and 2021 have seen retailers also draw from Canada’s sustainable beef value chain.

Walmart Canada says it anticipates “millions” of patties will be sold nationally with the mass balance claim.

“Walmart is committed to being a regenerative company — one that works to restore, renew and replenish our planet,” Walmart Canada CEO and president Horacio Barbeito said. “Offering this new line of beef patties with sustainability certification is part of our journey and a proud moment for our entire team.

“Our ongoing partnership with the CRSB helps drive the shared goal of advancing sustainability within the Canadian beef industry. Each of us can take pride in knowing that our collective actions support global sustainability commitments.”

The “mass balance” logo requires that at least 30 per cent of beef in that product come from CRSB certified farms.

Canada is now several years into its certified sustainable value chain, an initiative first started as a pilot with McDonald’s and major beef processor Cargill. Farms, feedlots and processors wanting to fold into the value chain must pass an audit by an authorized certification body (such as Verified Beef Production Plus, Where Food Comes From Inc. or the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Program) according to standards laid out by the CRSB.

For meat to qualify, animals must have spent their lives on and been processed by certified facilities. Farmers are then paid per head for every animal born on their farms and successfully brought through the value chain.

CRSB chair Anne Wasko welcomed the Walmart announcement.

“I think it just goes to show that as we continue to build on the certified sustainable program, that we continue to gain more ground in terms of pounds sold, more visibility, both for consumers and of course within our various members as well,” she said.

Last year, the CRSB reported 4.8 million pounds of beef sold with a claim between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. Almost 1,300 farms had been certified as of the start of July, a 28 per cent jump over the year before, and about 17 per cent of Canada’s beef herd was being raised on certified sustainable farms.

As of September last year, the value chain counted three certified processors and three companies selling beef with a CRSB claim, all of them restaurants. As well as McDonald’s, both Harvey’s and Chop Steakhouse and Bar were sourcing enough beef for a claim.

It is only more recently that retailers have also signed on.

Last December, Loblaw Companies became the first major retailer to source a significant amount of certified sustainable beef. The company announced the purchase of one million pounds. At the time, the company said it was unsure how or when any claim label might be used.

Wasko said the gradual uptake is not necessarily a surprise, as companies watch to see how others choose to move forward with the CRSB.

“It’s consistent and actually I would think in the past year we’ve probably seen more activity and more interest in the program, so it’s good all the way around,” she said. “It’s been slow at times, but I think that’s part of the process of growing a new program.”

As of last summer, the organization estimated that 8.6 million pounds of beef had been sold with a claim since the program’s inception.

The post Walmart to add sustainable beef label appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

People are buying. Despite the pandemic and the chaos surrounding containment and vaccination rules, consumers are quietly enjoying the products made from plant proteins and milk alternatives.

According to recent data offered by Nielsen, since the start of 2020 sales of vegetable protein products have increased by 31 per cent. At the retail level, the market for plant-based protein substitutes is worth almost $300 million in Canada now.

Some may be surprised to learn that Beyond Meat, the “darling” of plant-based proteins, is far from dominating the market in Canada. Indeed, it is the American brand Yves by Hain Celestial Group, which is most popular in Canada. The Yves brand has existed since 1985 and stands out for its innovative product development. The company offers all kinds of products for all tastes. In second place is Sunrise, then in third place is Gardein. Beyond Meat is only ranked fourth in the sales by brand of plant-based proteins.

There are now 20 brands in Canada that have generated sales exceeding $3 million in the past 52 weeks. Several large companies like Maple Leaf and Kellogg now offer products without animal meats.

Consumers are interested in these products for three important reasons. First, animal welfare is a concern for all those who want local agriculture and who are concerned about animal exploitation.

There is also health. Several studies suggest that plant protein products are a better choice from a nutritional perspective, although some of these studies are heavily disputed by the livestock industry. Finally, the environment. More consumers see the planet on their dinner plate and claim that animal production emits too many greenhouse gases.

The livestock sector also disputes such claims as it is trying to change practices to become a greener sector. The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is a good example. These factors appear to be motivating consumers, and Nielsen’s sales confirm that consumers are looking beyond the meat trifecta for sources of proteins.

Of course, some may believe the movement towards plant proteins is disrupting traditional sectors such as cattle and dairy. Even though these sectors provide consumers with high-quality, all-natural products, the threat is certainly real.

It is no coincidence that the Agropur co-operative just sold its yogurt division to the major French dairy group Lactalis.

Many consumers are revisiting their relationship with animal proteins, both at the meat counter and in the dairy products section. The Agropur dairy farmers’ co-operative was never ready or willing to make the switch to plants. As such, the dairy sector in Quebec is seeing a good portion of its dairy-processing capacity going foreign.

Giving consumers more choice is critical. Livestock and dairy may feel threatened due to their stomach-share mentality, thinking food business is a zero-sum game.

It may have been like this for years, but since consumers are looking for value, everyone has a place and role to play. Animal and vegetable proteins are complementary.

With a more sophisticated consumer looking for novelty, and value, companies must bet on a growing market and not the other way around.

The post Comment: Plant based still a thing despite COVID-19 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Loblaw Companies, one of the founders of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), has now joined the companies actively sourcing meat certified through the roundtable’s framework. The supermarket chain announced the purchase of one million pounds of CRSB certified beef Dec. 18.

Why it matters: The CRSB’s sustainable beef value chain has added more restaurants on its list of customers, but a major grocer is opening a new market channel direct to consumers.

The announcement marks the first time meat from the CRSB’s certified sustainable supply chain will hit grocery stores, rather than just restaurant menus. The program, which offers producers a per-head payment for cattle raised and slaughtered in facilities audited by a CRSB recognized body — such as Verified Beef Production Plus — has so far got bites from companies like McDonald’s, Harvey’s and Chop Steakhouse and Bar.

Loblaw will be sourcing that meat under the CRSB’s mass balance claim, the company has said. That sourcing model allows for the blending of CRSB certified meat and non-certified meat during processing, although 30 per cent of the beef must come from certified farms.

But while diners may have started to notice the CRSB’s mark appearing at restaurants already sourcing from CRSB certified farms, consumers will not immediately see additional messaging at the meat counter, Tonya Lagrasta, Loblaw senior director of corporate social responsibility, said.

The CRSB has developed a range of decals for its membership, ranging from trademarks to be used outside of product packaging to indicate general CRSB support, to logos denoting a product-specific claim.

Still in the early days after the announcement, Lagrasta says the company must confirm what kind of logo use they qualify for. Decisions will then be made on if and how CRSB decals might be integrated with their products.

The challenge, she said, will be properly conveying the fine details of mass balance sourcing to the consumer, compared to the more clear-cut narrative of sourcing from a wholly segregated supply.

“It won’t be segregated stock, but our purchase is contributing to creating this demand that signals to farmers that the consumers and our customers want this,” she said. “They want to purchase product. They want supply chains to become more sustainable.”

Lagrasta says the company will be exploring more of what that communication will look like in early 2021. The company will be speaking more broadly on its commitment for a “local, sustainable food future,” Lagrasta said.

“CRSB will be one of the examples that we share to kind of show that we’re walking the talk,” she said. “We’re not just saying we’re doing it, we’re at the table… helping to lead the conversation as we did with CRSB, and the moment there’s an opportunity for us to source and secure that product and bring it into our supply chain, we will do that.”

Anne Wasko, CRSB chair, confirmed that the company would be able to use the CRSB’s mass balance decal, but that it was up to the company on whether to integrate the symbol or not.

The Loblaw purchase represents a “pretty significant” increase in demand for the program, Wasko said.

About 8.6 million pounds of beef have been sold with a CRSB claim since 2018, the organization said in September 2020, including 4.78 million pounds between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020.

The CRSB expects to see volumes from the Loblaw purchase to appear in the next reporting period.

“I think what it shows us is that continued expansion of demand for beef from certified operations,” Wasko said. “That’s an exciting piece. So, we can show Canadian consumers that the industry is very much dedicated to sustainable practices and improvements.”

The CRSB’s 2020 goals included adding one more company to the list of names making a CRSB claim.

“Certainly, we’ve done more than that,” Wasko said.

The Manitoba Beef Producers likewise, welcomed the Dec. 18 announcement.

The producer group does not have hard numbers on how many Manitoba producers feed into the CRSB’s value chain, general manager Carson Callum said, although a “good amount” are working with Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+).

“Really, if there’s going to be more demand from the value chain on kind of the downstream perspective, it has the potential to lead to more returns for folks who are already involved in the program and might drive more folks to be involved in the program in the future,” he said.

Manitoba’s geographic location has thus far been an obstacle for the program gaining traction, he noted, given the distance to the first CRSB audited processing facility in Alberta. At the same time, he noted, that might now be changing with the addition of Cargill’s plant in Guelph to the CRSB’s certified sustainable supply chain. Cargill completed CRSB audits on its Eastern Canada plant this year, joining its facility in High River, Alta.

“Now with Cargill Guelph online and all the folks who have been able to utilize the High River facility that’s been pulling VBP+ beef through there, we’re hoping to see that this leads to more returns for producers in the future, and I think having somebody like Loblaw involved will definitely drive some interest,” Callum said.

Lagrasta expects this will not be the last time Loblaw looks to buy certified sustainable beef, “as more becomes available for us to do so in the coming years.”

Demand for meat from the program has consistently outstripped supply, CRSB administrators have noted year after year.

“It’s a good problem to have, when the demand for sustainable beef exceeds the supply, because it’s sending all the right signals to the farmers,” Lagrasta said.

This year, the CRSB announced the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Program as a certifying body for the CRSB, something the roundtable heralds as a way to bring more feedlots into the fold. Additional processors, such as Atlantic Beef and JBS Canada, have also joined Cargill as potential sources for CRSB certified beef.

The post Loblaw joins sustainable beef marketplace appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Why it matters: Efforts to build a separate supply chain for sustainable beef ran into challenges from market disruptions to logistical challenges with audits once COVID-19 hit, but increased public awareness of food systems might make for gain in the long term.

*The market disruption following the shutdown or slowdown of major beef plants in Alberta hit all parts of the beef sector hard in April, including the industry’s sustainable supply chain, made up of farms, feedlots and processors certified to standards set out by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB).

Cargill’s Alberta plant in High River, whose April closure helped drive widespread backlogs in the general beef sector, was also the first in Canada to be certified under those CRSB standards. It was the linchpin of the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration Pilot, the first effort of what is now a permanent program to establish a separate supply chain for sustainable beef, and is still a major stream for the program, which promises producers a per-head payment for cattle moved solely throughout facilities similarly certified by the CRSB.

When the High River plant went down for two weeks, the sustainable beef program echoed the impact.

“Our certified sustainable beef supply chain flexed with the industry during the COVID period, or during that key critical time when the supply chain was a bit constrained,” Emily Murray, Cargill general manager of beef sales to McDonald’s, said.

Their facilities saw a similar proportion of cattle qualifying for the program to their cattle volumes as a whole, she said, although the actual number of animals coming in across the board was down.

As a result, she said, the supply of certified sustainable beef did go down during the period when pressure on the plant was highest.

At the same time, however, the program’s end-use customers were also demanding less beef.

Cargill’s customers for certified sustainable beef have seen demand, “ebb and flow at different times during COVID(-19), as well as their supply,” Murray noted, given the sudden lockdowns and dining space closures and limitations.

As of late mid-September, food-service industry group Restaurants Canada estimated its sector’s sales this year could drop to half what they were last year, while 10 per cent of food-service businesses had closed permanently and, “most are still losing money.”

Of the companies linked to the CRSB, three restaurant chains — Harvey’s, McDonald’s and Chop Steakhouse and Bar — have so far committed to serving a certain proportion of their beef with the CRSB claim.

“As we look, overall, at the course of the program’s performance, we’re going to see that it balances out,” Murray said. “Our sustainable beef program really just adjusted in line with the supply and demand of the entire industry. There was no individual impact to that program, distinct from what was happening overall in the industry.”

Murray does not, however, expect the pandemic to hit at the sustainable beef program long term. If anything, she expects improvements.

While supply dropped, the pandemic did not cause the system to grind to a halt, she noted. Producers were still being audited, albeit with adjustments. The supply chain remained intact, and was ready to pick back up alongside the rest of the sector.

Between April and June 2020, Cargill processed 1.2 million pounds of beef from certified sustainable farms, down only slightly from 1.3 million pounds reported the quarter before, despite the shutdown.

The per-head payment to producers, however, did not suddenly collapse, despite being based on volumes moved through the system. Producers could expect an $18.09 payment for an animal processed between April and June this year, two cents higher than the quarter before.

That price consistency matched Murray’s expectations, although she expected fewer of those payments to be made as fewer overall cattle were processed.

Silver lining

Those pushing the sustainable beef movement have argued that the pandemic may also open doors for growth, given increased public interest in food systems.

Select shortages on grocery shelves, as well as the well-publicized disruptions at meat plants, led to a sudden spike of interest in food security and food sourcing earlier this year, those advocates have noted, while increased public trust has been a longtime pillar of the sustainable beef movement.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s really shone a light on the food system and people are becoming more acutely aware of where their food comes from — the farmers and ranchers as well as all stages of the supply chain,” CRSB executive director Monica Hadarits said. “They’re really recognizing that all points in the chain are important to get our food from gate to plate.”

The CRSB’s efforts include a three-year communications and marketing plan, which it hopes will expand public awareness of the CRSB’s framework, as well as efforts towards sustainable beef in general.

Murray, for her part, says some of the sustainable beef program’s existing customers have shown, “acceleration of interest in moving forward and making commitments.”

Murray has fielded calls with relatively new potential customers, she said, while other relationships had started prior to the pandemic. Some of those conversations were paused during the early months of the pandemic and have since had to be picked back up.

“What I would say is that they’re definitely picking up with more fervour,” she said. “There’s a lot more interest in moving quickly. I think one of the things that came out of COVID(-19) in general for a lot of our programs is we learned that we can act more quickly than maybe we have in the past.”

Impacts at the farm gate

More farms have been added to the list of certified operations in 2020, although the rate has slowed. A total 1,297 farms are certified with the CRSB, the organization reported during its annual meeting in September, up from 1,223 farms as of the end of 2019.

Compared to the six months prior, however, the number of new farms becoming certified has fallen short of what the program may have come to expect. From the end of 2018 to the end of 2019, the CRSB reported a jump from 867 certified farms to 1,223, compared to the 74-farm increase reported in September.

The new challenges to doing business may have had much to do with that slowdown.

The pandemic brought significant hurdles for farms looking to get certified — in particular, the requirement for an on-site audit. Suddenly, the idea of having a stranger on farm and interacting with the farm family became less attractive for some farmers, while VBP+ had to be concerned with the safety of its auditors.

In March, according to VBP+ business manager Shannon Argent, auditors expressed some reluctance to carry out farm visits, especially those with vulnerable family members.

“We had an initial kind of, ‘we don’t know what’s going on,’ phase, and then we actually didn’t take very long to get up to normal business as usual,” she said.

VBP+ had initially stopped audits in March, during the early days of the pandemic. By early April, the organization had introduced COVID-19 protocols, efforts that were helped when the CRSB announced an exemption to its framework. The exemption allowed producers to opt for a remote audit, with the understanding that VBP+ would perform the on-site visit once COVID-19 risk had gone down.

“We were working on an electronic audit management tool anyway, so it wasn’t a big stretch for us to develop a remote audit methodology,” Argent said.

Producers could still opt for an immediate on-farm audit under COVID-19 precautions.

Most producers stuck with the initial on-farm audit since the audit did not require auditors to enter the house and social distance was easily maintained, Argent noted.

“There was ample disinfectant, even with our standard biosecurity protocol, so they were quite comfortable with the protocols we had enacted for COVID(-19),” she said.

VBP+ saw some audit backlogs, she said, but noted that enough auditors were available to quickly dwindle the list.

Looking to the future

In general, the CRSB’s efforts on the sustainable beef value chain was already in growth mode prior to COVID-19.

Three processors now carry a CRSB certification, including Cargill, which completed its audit on a second facility in Guelph, Ont., just prior to the pandemic.

Both JBS Canada and Atlantic Beef have been added to the processors verified under the CRSB framework.

As of July 1, 2020, CRSB certified farms accounted for about 17 per cent of the Canadian beef herd, while 4.78 million pounds of beef had been sold with a CRSB claim from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, over half of the volume sold under the program since its inception.

And while concern over grocery shelves may have waned in the intervening months, Murray does not expect the new-found interest for action on sustainable beef to fade, although it might not ultimately orient around the term “sustainable.”

“I think that it’ll be a long-term thing. This was something that was growing in consumers’ interest even before the pandemic,” she said. “What I think might happen, and we’ve said this even pre-pandemic, will the word ‘sustainability’ in itself be the buzzword for consumers? Not necessarily. I think that might become more of an industry term whereas for the consumer, it will take on a new form, whether that’s ‘responsible sourcing’ or even ‘local,’ with local in that case meaning domestic, meaning Canadian.”

Hadarits agrees.

“The consumer research has indicated that, that conversation will likely continue to grow, so we’re continuing to work and move forward with that,” she said. “The interest is still there.”

*Update: A clarification to the beef industry’s supply chain was provided. 

The post Pluses and minuses: COVID-19 hurts then helps beef sustainability appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.