By Robin Salverson
The definition of sustainability in agriculture is a much debated topic. When focusing on production agriculture, Cameron Bruett with JBS USA and past president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, put it simply as “Doing more with less. Doing better today than you did yesterday so you have the opportunity to improve tomorrow. It is about continuous improvement”.
During the 2015 Range Beef Cow Symposium, Bruett engaged the audience with his understanding of sustainability in the beef industry. It does not solely focus on sustaining the natural resources but also the social dynamics and economics. Sustainability is not about a system (i.e. conventional vs. natural vs. grass fed vs. organic) but about creating a sustainable meat case for the growing population.
A growing population that will be buying beef according to Bruett. His concern is feeding the middle class, the majority of beef consumers. He also cautions people not to pit one system over another (i.e. organic vs. conventional) because they all fit in the industry.