Conference sees launch of beef sustainability principles
The conference, held in Brussels, saw the coming together of food industry leaders to discuss the issues of beef production and sustainability. Speakers from McDonald’s, the European Parliament and agricultural organisations took part in discussions to understand the global position on sustainable beef production.
Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), an organisation that supports the development of sustainable agriculture, used the conference to launch its new set of ‘Principles for Sustainable Beef Farming’. According to SAI its principles are the most complete guidelines developed for beef production to date.
The organisation said its principles will help beef production move in a safer direction, where high-quality beef can be bred in a way that protects the environment, the social and economic conditions of farmers, their employees and local communities.
Speaking about the need to source sustainable beef, senior director of McDonald’s Europe supply chain Keith Kenny said: “Beef is the most iconic item on our menu, so sourcing beef sustainably has long been a priority for our business. More than a decade ago, we introduced our McDonald’s Agricultural Assurance Programme (MAAP), which has been helping drive higher standards in our supply chain.”
However, he pointed out that, to date, there was currently no widely agreed definition of what sustainable beef looked like. He said the SAI platform, however, had brought together producers, processors and retailers from across the supply chain to develop a definition. “This is a significant achievement and the new principles will be instrumental in aligning actions and accelerating progress towards a more sustainable beef supply chain,” he added.
“The next step is to develop a set of Sustainable Beef Farming Practices to help farmers meet those principles in a practical way and then widely promote and support their adoption. At the same time we are also aligning our work with the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.”
Meanwhile, SAI said that, by having one set of principles, the beef sector will be able to focus on delivering against one thing as a group. “The principles provide the necessary sustainability assurances needed for companies’ supply chains, thereby negating the need for purchasers to develop and pursue their own sourcing programmes.”
