Sustainability Roundtable Important in Colorado

US - Being on board with a national sustainability drive from its inception means a great deal to a producer organisation.
calendar icon 26 March 2015
clock icon 2 minute read

Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) President, Frank Daley, has underscored the importance of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) to how the cattle industry will look in the future.

This is why the CCA signed up with 42 others to form the fifth regional beef roundtable, joining Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia's national efforts.

Earlier this month, the USRSB was announced, and with it a tricolon with which to measure progress; social, environmental and economical.

Major food chains and agri-business companies are involved in the roundtable, such as McDonald’s, Cargill, Tyson and JBS USA.

Other producer groups such as the Minnesota, Alabama, Missouri, Oregon, Nebraska and National Cattlemen’s Association are founding members, with research groups such as the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Environmental groups – World Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservancy and Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable.

“Our organization saw the importance of being involved in this process on the ground floor,” said Mr Daley.

“Decisions made by this body may substantially affect how our industry functions, near-term and well into the future. Our board felt it was important to be at this table and help lead the process.”

Cattle producers have been rallied to engage with the process of identifying “sustainability indicators” after the confirmation of the roundtable.

Mr Daley said the aims of the CCA and broader roundtable are to advance, support and communicate continuous improvement in sustainability of the US beef value chain.

Urging organisations to join, the USRSB said: “Membership provides an opportunity to engage with leaders throughout the beef value chain to shape the dialogue on beef sustainability and contribute to the long-term viability of the US beef industry.

“Membership in USRSB demonstrates your commitment to continuously improving the sustainability of beef.”

Canada added 32 new members and 15 science advisors to its own roundtable last in 2014, one of which was café chain Tim Hortons.

Company spokesperson, Heather Mak, speaking to the Canadian Rountable for Sustainable Beef, said sustainability is very important to them.

“We believe that the approach that the CRSB is taking - collaborative, multi-stakeholder, national, and focused on the triple bottom line - is the right one,” said Mrs Mak.

“We look forward to developing solutions with our peers to help ensure a resilient and sustainable Canadian beef industry.”

Michael Priestley

Michael Priestley
News Team - Editor

Mainly production and market stories on ruminants sector. Works closely with sustainability consultants at FAI Farms

 
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