McDonald's Canada has wrapped up its industry-first Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot, marking a milestone of its collaborative partnership with the Canadian beef industry over the past 30 months to advance more sustainable beef practices.
McDonald's Canada tracked the journey of nearly 9,000 head of Canadian cattle, or the equivalent of 2.4 million patties. The cattle spent their entire lives, from “birth to burger,” raised on or handled by verified sustainable operations, according to the announcement.
The pilot has demonstrated that not only can sustainable practices and outcomes be verified through the entire Canadian beef supply chain (from farm to processing), but also that cattle from verified sustainable beef operations may be tracked through the operations. The Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot Project in Canada is the first program to make the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) principles and criteria actionable across the entire beef value chain.
More than 180 operations — 121 ranches, 34 backgrounding operations, 24 feedlots, two beef processors and one patty plant — completed the third-party process to verify their beef operations as sustainable under the pilot project.
The five indicator categories, which pilot participants were measured on, encompass:
- Natural resources, such as ensuring soil health, water supply and wildlife and plant biodiversity.
- People and community, include ensuring a safe work environment and commitment to supporting the local community.
- Animal health and welfare, such as adequate feed to drinking water and minimizing animal stress and pain.
- Food, such as ensuring food safety and beef quality, including training and registration in the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program.
- Efficiency and innovation, such as recycling and energy efficiency programs.
To recognize the conclusion of the pilot, executives from McDonald's, World Wildlife Fund U.S. and members of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) met Wednesday with pilot participants, industry stakeholders and elected officials to share the progress that has been made toward verifying a sustainable beef supply. The pilot's findings were handed over to the CRSB, which is responsible for mapping the path forward for verified sustainable beef in Canada.
"The McDonald's pilot has provided us with new insights that will support our thinking and direction as we advance existing and new sustainability efforts within the Canadian beef industry,” said Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, rancher and chair of the CRSB, which was formed in 2014 to create a multi-stakeholder organization of experts representing various aspects of beef production, including McDonald's Canada, Cargill, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canada Beef, Loblaw Inc., government and producer groups.