| Dear GRSB Member, |
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 From Ruaraidh Petre
Executive Director Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
The GRSB board meeting that took place in Denver on October 4th included executive board elections; these will result in some changes to the executive committee as from January 1st 2014. We are very grateful to the board members who sit on the executive committee as it involves a significant time input from them. While the changes will take place in January I would like to take this opportunity to thank John Carter of Aliança da Terra and Bob Fields of Sam's Club for all of their time and effort on the executive committee, and look forward to welcoming Forrest Roberts of NCBA and Gary Johnson of McDonalds who will be replacing them.
The definitions committee work still requires significant input from members. You will receive a separate reminder to submit comments on the draft principles and criteria; you are also invited to participated in the technical working groups on the criteria if you are not yet involved. Please contact me if you can help, particularly in the field of 'people' and 'communities'.
Ruaraidh
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Global Roundtable Executive Board Meets in Denver
Cameron Bruett (JBS), GRSB President, and Ruaraidh Petre, Executive Director, discussing the progress for the Roundtable during 2013 and the strategic direction for upcoming years.
GRSB Treasurer, Roger Cady (Elanco), discussing the financial status of GRSB during the Oct. 4 GRSB Executive Board Meeting in Denver, CO.
Nolan Stone, General Manager of the Five Rivers Kuner Feedlot, leading a tour of the Yocam Ranch on which he grazes his cow/calf herd. Also pictured are Pieter Sijbrandij (Solidaridad), Ian McConnel (WWF-Australia), Jenny Hodgen (Merck), and Ruaraidh Petre.
Brett Ulrich, Cattle Manager for Five River Feeding, describing the massive remodel done to the Kuner Feedlot near Greeley, Colorado which provided a significant improvement to the drainage and pen comfort for the cattle.
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McDonald's CSR Man Outlines Sustainability Goals
dateline: 10/2/13, GlobalMeatNews.com, by Nicholas Robinson
McDonald's would be the fourth-largest importer of Irish beef if it was a country, taking around 10% of Ireland's total beef production and 2.5% of all European Union (EU) beef production, a corporation boss said. Read more of this copy written article HERE
JBS Unveils New QA-driven Southern Grassfed Brand Program
dateline: 10/27/13, source: BeefCentral.com
Australia's largest meat packer, JBS Australia, has joined a world trend in farm quality assurance with its Great Southern grassfed beef and lamb brand launch in Melbourne on Wednesday night. About 200 meat industry workers, livestock producers, stock agents, retailers and food service business owners sampled freshly-prepared Great Southern beef and lamb dishes while a beef carcass was cut up during the launch at Two Ton Max in North Melbourne. JBS chief operating officer for Southern Australia Sam McConnell said the third-party audited JAS/ANZ ISO 65-accredited farm quality assurance programs backing the Great Southern beef and lamb products were the first of their type in Australia.
Cargill and CARE Renew Effort to Fight Hunger, Improve Incomes Among Smallholder Farmers
dateline: 9/24/13, source: Sacramento Bee
New partnership extends multi-year, multi-country program that has helped more than 100,000 people improve their livelihoods
Cargill and CARE today announced the renewal of a global partnership that is helping farmers and their families in developing countries increase their productivity and incomes, improve food security in their communities and better educate their children.
The new three-year, $7.5-million partnership builds on the success of the Rural Development Initiative, a five-year, $10-million initiative begun in 2008 that has benefited the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people in India, Ghana, Cote d'IVoire, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Brazil.
Cargill to Offer Australian Beef
dateline: 9/30/13, source: Meat & Poultry
Cargill Food Distribution plans to offer both grass-finished and grain-finished beef from Australia through an agreement with Teys Australia, Cargill announced Sept. 30. The beef will be available to customers from Cargill's nine distribution centers.
“Teys is a known and trusted Australian beef processor that has built its reputation for offering quality products over the past 67 years, and  Americans will now be able to enjoy those items without having to travel Down Under,” said John Niemann, president of Wichita-based Cargill Food Distribution. “We have a long-standing business relationship with the Teys family, and believe Americans will embrace their company’s beef products when they have an opportunity to try them.”
Woolworths Launches Farmers Own
dateline: 10/1/13, source: ABC Local, au, by Kim Honan
In a first for the Australian dairy industry a major supermarket has started dealing directly with individual farmers. Woolworths signed a deal with seven dairy farmers from the NSW Manning Valley in June and after three months of testing the farmers' milk is now on supermarket shelves.
The Farmers' Own brand has been stocked in eight stores on the state's Mid North Coast and the farmers hope it will soon be expanded into other areas.
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 Major Reductions of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Within Reach
dateline: 9/26/13, source: UN News Centre
Wider use of available best practices and technologies could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector by as much as 30 per cent, according to a new study released today by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The report, "Tackling climate change through livestock: A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities" represents the most comprehensive estimate to date of livestock’s contribution to global warming, as well as the sector’s potential to help tackle the problem.
“The potential for achieving emissions reductions lies in enabling all livestock producers to change to practices already being used by the most efficient operators,” FAO stated in a news release.
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Hunting for More Meaningful Meat
dateline: 9/26/13, source: Boulder Weekly, by Zak Weinberg
 Photo by Doug Wilson/USDA
Sustainable beef industry runs up against few definitions, variable solutions
Corn-fed cattle produce less methane than grass-fed.
Food systems contribute 19 percent to 29 percent of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2012 study by scientists from the University of Copenhagen, Oxford and the Natural Environmental Research Council. Of that amount, agriculture production and changes to the land caused by production contribute up to 86 percent.
When people look to make food choices that lower their personal carbon footprint, meat and its viability as a sustainable diet choice often take center stage. The personal decisions consumers make about eating free-range, grass-fed, organic or hormone-free meat are the same decisions industry professionals, from ranchers to fast food chain executives, are discussing around the world as they try to target what exactly sustainable meat means.
“Can we say we’re buying any sustainable beef today?” Bob Langert, McDonald’s Corp.’s sustainability vice president, said in an interview with Bloomberg last year. “No, we can’t. Could we be buying sustainable beef? We might be. What I mean by that is that there are no standards, measures, accountability and traceability to make those claims today.”
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Sustainable Livestock Production Is Possible
dateline: 9/25/13, source: Phys.Org
New research advocates use of pastures with shrubs and trees. Consumers are increasingly demanding higher standards for how their meat is sourced, with animal welfare and the impact on the environment factoring in many purchases. Unfortunately, many widely-used livestock production methods are currently unsustainable.
However, new research out today from the University of Cambridge has identified what may be the future of sustainable livestock production: silvopastoral systems which include shrubs and trees with edible leaves or fruits as well as herbage
Professor Donald Broom, from the University of Cambridge, who led the research said: "Consumers are now demanding more sustainable and ethically sourced food, including production without negative impacts on the environment and the livelihood of poor producers. Silvopastoral systems address all of these concerns with the added benefit of increased production in the long term."
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In The News |
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Canadian Small Business Wins $100,000 Grant from Telus to Aid a Sustainable Agriculture Industry
dateline: 9/27/13, source: Techvibes.com
A Calgary-based small business is taking home a $100,000 grant to contribute to a more sustainable agriculture industry by researching new manure treatment technologies in support of its work of cleaning livestock manure.
Livestock Water Recycling beat out more than 1,000 Canadian companies to win the Telus and The Globe and Mail’s small business contest, which started in March.
Livestock Water Recycling specializes in manure treatment technologies for livestock operations. The company uses a patented water recycling system to clean and extract fertilizer nutrients from manure for reuse. However, the business says that it has faced market growth challenges resulting from strict government regulations around the importation of livestock manure and the capacity of its research lab.
Big Processors Embrace New Animal Welfare Certification Program + Video
dateline: 9/22/13, source BeefCentral.com, by Jon Condon
Australia’s largest meat processors are moving rapidly to adopt the industry’s newly-launched voluntary animal welfare certification system. JBS Australia, Teys Australia and Nippon Meat Packers Australia, which collectively account for more than 50 percent of the nation’s beef kill, will shortly begin adoption of the new program, after its launch last week at the Australian Meat Industry Council’s national conference.
The AAWCS is an independently-audited voluntary animal welfare certification program used by livestock processors to demonstrate compliance with the industry’s best practice animal welfare standards. Covering all animal welfare and humane treatment from receival to processing, it is the first program of its type seen across the global processing industry, developers say.
Project Sees Dairy Gains from Beef Genetics
dateline: 9/24/13, source Stuff.co.nz, by Gerald Piddock
New research from AgResearch has highlighted the benefit of using high-quality beef genetics in dairy beef production.
The early results from the five-year Dairy Beef Integration Programme indicated the potential for large gains for dairy farmers through the use of superior beef semen or bulls. The programme looks at the impact of using good beef genetics in a dairy beef supply chain by evaluating the use of these genetics in a dairy herd and the subsequent rearing and finishing of the dairy-beef calf.
AgResearch scientist and project leader Dr Vicki Burggraaf saw large gains across a well-managed supply chain through the use of superior beef semen or bulls. "For dairy farmers, benefits include reduced mating costs through the use of cheaper semen, less stress on staff at calving and a potentially higher value surplus calf,' she said. "Finishers are supplied with potentially faster growing and more valuable cattle and processors can benefit from higher meat yields and better quality beef."
 EU Welcomes Return of Beef from Chile
dateline: 9/23/13, source: GlobalMeatNews.com, by Robert Stokes
Chile is expected to resume exports of fresh beef to the European Union by the end of the month, according to industry sources. "EU beef importers were impatient to resume the trade, so we welcome resumption of the certification for Chilean beef exports,” Jean-Luc Meriaux, secretary general of the European Livestock and Meat Trading Union (UECBV) told Globalmeatnews.
China Freezes Australian Chilled Beef Imports
dateline 9/26/13, source: ABC Online, au
In the latest trade blow for Australian cattle exporters, China has put a hold on imports of chilled beef. Australian exports to China more the tripled last year and the industry believes the move is aimed at strengthening China's negotiating position ahead of free trade talks.
Ireland Sets Out the Stage for Sustainability
dateline 10/1/13, meatinfo.co.uk, By Nicholas Robinson
Food supply chain sustainability is one of the most important issues in the sector, President of Ireland Enda Kenny said at the opening of a Bord Bia sustainability conference last week. Origin Green produces sustainable food Kenny spoke at the Irish food board’s (Bord Bía’s) conference on food sustainability, entitled ‘Our Food. Our Future. Sustainability: The Bottom Line’.
He said the food industry was part of the Irish people, who take great pride in producing some of the world’s best food and drink. He also said that Bord Bía’s Origin Green programme, which he launched last year, was helping the Irish food and drink industry produce food sustainably. “The world is changing at a bewildering speed and businesses now realize that what the customers expect of them is radically different than what was expected five, maybe 10 years ago,” he said.
Indonesian Companies Eye Prime Stake in Australian Beef
dateline: 10/1/13, source: ABC Online, au, by Matt Peacock
Several Indonesian businesses, including a major-government owned company, are planning to buy stakes in Australian pastoral properties, prompting different response from the local industry and some politicians. Today the Prime Minister welcomed Indonesian investment in the Australian cattle industry as a major government owned Indonesia Company, RNI, announced its spending more than $30 million to acquire a stake in an Australian beef property.
It's not the only investment of its kind. In Darwin at least two major private Indonesian companies appear well advanced in their plans to buy Territory pastoral leases as Matt Peacock reports.
Canada's Verified Beef Production Grows
dateline: 10/1/13, source: Manitoba Co-operator
Two-thirds of Canada’s beef now comes from cattle operations that have been trained under the Verified Beef Production program, the program’s manager says in a release.
“Canadian beef producers do a good job and care about what they do,” said Terry Grajczyk, national manager of the VBP program for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “Many have been loyal to the VBP program and it continues to grow. We are looking for ways to secure further recognition for beef production practices on behalf of cattle producers.”
Participation grew three per cent last year with the training of another 17,103 producers.
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