McDonald's Sustainable Beef Pilot Project a success

Jun 09, 2016

A pilot project with McDonald's that tested the principles and criteria of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is being deemed a success.

Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, McDonald's Canada's senior manager of sustainability, says the project results were released last week for McDonald's Sustainable Beef Pilot Project.

"We've now proved in Canada that you can track cattle right from birth, straight through to burger, and that's something that hadn't been done before, so we were really proud that we were able to use this pilot to prove that," he says. "So information sharing up and down the whole value chain is a real critical element that the industry is going to need... and we're here to help make sure we're supportive of that and we're going to continue supporting that."

The McDonald's project tracked the journey of nearly 9000 head of Canadian cattle, or the equivalent of 2.4 million beef patties, raised on or handled through verified sustainable operations. Fitzpatrick-Stilwell says producers volunteered to be a part of the program.

"We were just delighted with the response we had from the Canadian beef industry," he says. "We had close to 200 people volunteer to be part of it, so it was just an incredibly positive response for us."

Last year, McDonald's sourced 65 million pounds of beef from Canadian beef producers.

Source : Portageonline

Video: Early Fall Colors | Scenic Ontario Road Trip!

All adventures must come to an end, but not without one more journey! Join The Wandering Shepherds as we say farewell to our cozy Calabogie cottage and take the scenic road trip home to Ewetopia Farms. Our first stop was a breathtaking hydroelectric generating station, framed by cliffs, rushing water, and brilliant fall leaves that seemed to have changed overnight. From there, we meandered along winding backroads through lakes and hills, soaking in the spectacular autumn scenery. This year, the colors seemed to arrive earlier than usual—perhaps due to the summer’s drought? Whatever the reason, it was an unforgettable display of Ontario’s fall beauty. Finally, our holiday drew to a close as we pulled back into Ewetopia Farms, ready to return to the sheep and our daily vlogs. But this trip reminded us how important it is to pause, explore, and appreciate the simple beauty around us.