It will be first company to offer Canadian beef from certified farms and ranches
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
McDonald’s Canada will be the first company in the country to serve Canadian beef from certified sustainable farms and ranches.
The fast food chain made the announcement on Wednesday, a company release said.
Following four years of work, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) created a framework for sustainable beef in Canada.
“Sustainability is a good business,” Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, rancher and chair of the CRSB, said in the release.
“Consumers are increasingly inquisitive about the food they’re eating and want to know it was produced in a socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound manner.”
Now, McDonald’s customers can buy Angus beef sourced from farms certified sustainable by world-class standards set by the CRSB, the release said.
People can expect to see the CRSB certification logo on the menu alongside McDonald’s Mighty Angus® line-up.
Over the next year, over 20-million Angus burgers will be sourced according to the CRSB standards, the release said.
Indeed, McDonald’s Canada sources 100 per cent of the beef for its hamburger patties from Canadian farms, located mainly in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The CRSB Sustainable Beef Production and Processing Standards include more than 60 indicators which are upheld by on-farm certification audits.
For example, on a certified farm, a rancher must ensure grasslands and grazing are managed in a way that maintains or improves soil health and protects watershed areas, the release said.
“Effective conservation needs partnerships,” John Lounds, Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) president and CEO, said in the release.
“We have been fortunate to work with the Canadian Roundtable on Sustainable Beef to help reduce habitat loss for wildlife on Canada’s grasslands and positively impact the environment.”
McDonald’s Canada is a founding member of the CRSB, which also includes stakeholders representing academia, government, producer associations and processors, the release said.
Previous coverage on CRSB’s framework and pilot project can be found here.