Canada joins international sustainable agriculture production and food systems coalition

Jan 28, 2022

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian farmers and producers are key drivers for advancing innovation and sustainability for our country’s agricultural and agri-food sector. As part of the Government of Canada’s approach to working in collaboration with international partners to mitigate the risks of climate change and create conditions for industry to remain competitive globally, Canada has joined the Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation coalition (SPG).

As an outcome of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, which took place in September 2021, Canada has joined more than 15 countries, as well as dozens of academic organizations, foundations and private sector associations, in becoming signatories of the SPG, led by the United States.

The coalition will work in collaboration to develop strategies focused on accelerating the transition to more sustainable food systems through agricultural productivity growth. Its work will be informed by ideas that optimize sustainability across social, economic, and environmental dimensions, including all sectors of agriculture.

Collaboration with coalition partners will provide Canada with an international platform to advocate for research, advance innovations and technologies, and facilitate productivity growth in our own agriculture and agri-food sector.

Canadian farmers have always been good stewards of the land and have a solid track record of sustainable agriculture, with sound management practices, and adopting innovative practices and technologies. Over the past two decades, farmers have doubled the value of production while stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts must continue in order to reduce emissions, given the pressing climate and environmental challenges at hand.

Source : Government of Canada

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.