By Liane Faulder

Sustainable agriculture is a popular environmental concept, and fast becoming a well-worn catchphrase. But according to Greg Bowie, chair of Alberta Beef Producers, sustainability was a practice among Alberta beef ranchers long before it became a trendy topic of conversation among consumers.

“The ranching community has been around Alberta for well over 100 years, and a lot of the land they operate on is in as good, or better, condition than it was when they first came to this province with cattle,” says Bowie.

Now, a new initiative by McDonald’s — the fast food giant whose livelihood depends on burgers — is driving home the message that beef can be produced in a sustainable fashion, one that creates healthy food and respects the planet, and cattle producers, at the same time.
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Bowie is part of a pilot project that will see McDonald’s purchasing, in 2016, an as-yet-to-be-determined portion of its beef from sources that are verified sustainable. The project’s goal is to develop an independent system to measure and verify sustainability, to be run in Canada through the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

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It's their program and they are curious about its next generation

By: Terry Hockaday

There will be big changes in Canada's Verified Beef Production (VBP) program this coming year.
Designed originally as the national on-farm food safety program for beef it has slowly and steadily gained respect through industry channels. Today, it is about to graduate into a new era called VBP+ adding new modules for biosecurity, animal care and environmental stewardship.
That's a big change. How exactly will this be done? What will it mean for producers on the program and their industry?
The simple answer is "It's goal is simple but the background work is complex," says Manitoba cattle producer, Betty Green. As the Manitoba provincial VBP coordinator and part of the VBP+ development team she has sat in on many of the meetings and listened to the chatter in the hallways.

​Read the full article here.

And why VBP can bridge beef producer and corporate Canada goals

McDonald's Jeff Fitzpatrick-Stilwell has worked with the beef industry to help tell the beef story.

It's been eye-opening for Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell. The McDonald's Canada senior manager of sustainability is the company lead on its innovative "verified sustainable beef" pilot project.

This project, he believes, is significant for Canada's beef industry. It also inevitably raises questions about the role of corporate players such as his company in driving industry direction. 

Fitzpatrick-Stilwell is comfortable with that discussion. His career has taken him to the frontlines and backrooms of the sustainability world. He knows the realities of the global food industry and how Canada's beef producers can bridge those worlds today.
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​Read the full article here.