What's in the news right now about an environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable beef value chain?

Executive Director's Message:

Today, we are pleased to announce that the GRSB membership has overwhelmingly approved our global sustainability goals, and a press release to that effect is being published today. While not all members voted, well over 90% of the votes cast were in favour of the three goals.

The launch of our global sustainability goals showcase commitments to advance and improve the sustainability of the global beef value chain. The three key areas of focus, carefully identified to reflect priority areas for advancement and improvement, are:

  • Climate: Reduce the net global warming impact of beef by 30%
  • Land Use: Ensure the beef value chain is a net positive contributor to nature
  • Animal Health and Welfare: Provide cattle with an environment in which they can thrive, achieved through increased adoption of best practices

I would like to thank everyone involved in the goal setting process; to Ian McConnel for leading the overall process, to Josefina Eisele, Simon Hall, Brenna Grant, Josh White and Mandi McLeod for co-chairing the individual working groups and to the dozens of members who set aside many hours for discussion, drafting, review and feedback. It has been a significant piece of work for GRSB and for our members.

The timing of this vote and the news that we can now share with the wider world is fortuitous – pressure has continued to grow since the beginning of this year for the livestock sector to demonstrate its sustainability credentials, particularly at the UN Food Systems Summit and at the climate and biodiversity COP meetings. These goals demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions that align well with the objectives of those forums, and as a result of a fully inclusive process involving our whole membership. We can be rightly proud of this achievement, which represents an ability to overcome the obstacles we inevitably face when trying to align ourselves across the whole industry and beyond. Thank you all!

Our goals are ambitious and by focusing our efforts, we aim to inspire research and investment in science and innovation that will unlock their potential impact. The next challenge is of course to work on delivery, and how we will report against them. That is work that will continue to occupy our working groups into the future, so please, if you have not been part of the process please do have your say in this next stage.

Thanks,

Ruaraidh Petre
Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Executive Director
June 30, 2021

Now on social media...

GRSB has launched our brand new global sustainability goals.

Climate change continues to challenge our world. The global beef industry plays a key role in sustainability. 

Read about our ambitious commitments. 

#sustainability #climatechange #agriculture #beef

The GRSB and its Stakeholders would like to Thank the following Organizations for their Contribution to the Global Beef Sustainability Acceleration Fund.

Now on social media...

The conversation around #beefsustainability is more important than ever. That's why GRSB has launched our global sustainability goals.

As part of the #beefindustry, GRSB has committed to a more #sustainable ecosystem for all.

Read about our global goals.

55pc of World’s Terrestrial Surface Consists of Rangelands, But Just 10pc of National Climate Plans
Beef Central, May 28, 2021

A new atlas published today shows that 54 per cent of the world’s land surface consists of vast tracts of land covered by grass, shrubs or sparse, hardy vegetation that support millions of pastoralists, hunter gatherers, ranchers and large populations of wildlife—and store large amounts of carbon.

Yet while most climate plans focus on forests, much less importance is given to rangelands, leaving these massive planetary ecosystems supporting people and nature exposed to a wide variety of threats.

This is among the key conclusions of the new Rangelands Atlas—an ambitious, first-of-its-kind inventory compiled by a coalition of prominent international environmental, conservation and agricultural organisations cataloguing the contemporary character of the world’s rangelands, which include the Mongolian steppe, the savannas of Africa, the pampas of South America and the Great Plains of North America.

Their goal is to make rangelands a prominent part of policy discussions around everything from confronting climate change to reducing poverty, managing threats to biodiversity and freshwater and developing sustainable food systems.

Will Government Show Grazing's Good Side at the UN Food Systems Summit?
Realagriculture.com, May 6, 2021

A series of three meetings were jointly held in early May led by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). The purpose of the meetings was to discuss grazing livestock and their role in building a sustainable food supply system.

The meetings and consultations were held in preparation for the United Nations Food System Summit this coming fall, which hasn’t been held for 25 years.

Lauren Martin, manager of government and food industry relations for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, notes that the summit was conveniently announced before the pandemic, when massive disruptions to the food systems occurred and will need to be discussed and addressed.

Food Systems Offer Huge Opportunities to Cut Emissions, Study Finds
Kevin Krajick, Phys.org, June 6, 2021

A new global analysis of greenhouse-gas emissions from food systems says that such emissions have been systematically underestimated—and points to major opportunities to cut them. The authors estimate that activities connected to food production and consumption produced the equivalent of 16 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018—one third of the human-produced total, and an 8 percent increase since 1990.

A companion policy paper highlights the need to integrate research with efforts to reduce emissions. The papers, developed jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, NASA, New York University and experts at Columbia University, are part of a special issue of Environmental Research Letters on sustainable food systems

New Report from UN Nutrition Untangles Risks and Benefits of Food from Livestock for Sustainable Healthy Diets, Focusing on Challenges Linked to Both Abundance and Scarcity
Susan MacMillan, ILRI, June 8, 2021

A more balanced, sustainable approach to consuming food from livestock—one that meets nutrition needs and focuses on local production methods—is essential for delivering on global commitments to combat malnutrition in all its forms, according to a comprehensive report released today from UN Nutrition.

While acknowledging key health and environmental challenges linked to overconsumption, the analysis also shows that livestock can provide nutrient-dense foods for addressing undernourishment that causes stunting in approximately 22% of young children worldwide and health risks at other key stages of life, especially for pregnant and lactating women.

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