Canadian beef producers take a holistic view of sustainability

Sustainability has three interconnected pillars: economic, environmental and social. Canadian beef producers know a thing or two about each one as they live and work sustainably every day on farms and ranches that often have histories spanning several generations.

While some consumers have misguided conceptions regarding the healthfulness of beef and the impact of its production, today’s ranchers and feedlot operators continue to make a positive difference in Canada and around the world. By taking a holistic view of sustainability, our producers are keeping Canadian beef production economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially connected.

Economic Sustainability

Economic sustainability extends beyond profitability to create sustainable economic growth that benefits society. This is an easy one to credit to beef producers, who remain the cornerstones of rural life in many communities across Canada, contributing billions of dollars to the Canadian economy each year¹. Without beef production, communities would shrivel or disappear completely, and tens of thousands of farm families would no longer have an income.

Canadian cattle operations are businesses with employees, wages, insurance, inputs, logistics and markets, just like any other. During any given year, producers also deal with many domestic and global challenges such as armed conflicts, famines, trade disagreements, supply interruptions, extreme weather events and government regulations. Through it all, they must still generate income to pay their staff, mortgages and bank loans, and (hopefully) earn enough to reinvest in the business year over year.

A negative return on investment would directly impact a producer’s ability to put food on their family’s table, so you might forgive them for viewing their operation through an economic lens first. However, this doesn’t mean beef producers are not environmentally sustainable. Quite the contrary.

Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability focuses on the protection and restoration of our natural environment. Farmers, ranchers and feedlot operators are intrinsically linked to the land they use to raise their animals. After all, the health of the grasslands and water that offers sustenance to their livestock ultimately provides an income for their families as well.

Through the promotion of grazing management, cattle are helping improve soil health and nutrient cycling, both of which promote plant and animal biodiversity. Take riparian areas, for example. These interfaces between bodies of water and the land that surrounds them can be remarkably preserved by the proper application and timing of grazing pressure. Healthy riparian zones are a welcome oasis for migratory birds, and the plants that form their borders are excellent at filtering excessive sediment and nutrients from water before they enter main waterways. This preserves the health and clarity of surface waters in Canadian rivers, lakes, and ponds².

Cattle are also adept at accessing areas that human technology cannot, and with increasing frequency, are being employed to graze in heavily forested areas to clear out underbrush from landscapes not hospitable to logging, clearing, or cutting by humans. This helps decrease the potential for severe wildfires.

Additionally, livestock play a crucial role in the natural cycling of carbon through the environment³. Cattle are carbon neutral. The carbon they emit is temporarily stored in plants, which absorb carbon from the atmosphere and soil as they grow. While cattle emit methane from the process of enteric (internal) fermentation, that methane is sourced from the process of digesting plant matter. This plant matter regrows, and by regrowing, pulls carbon from the atmosphere. In essence, cattle are carbon neutral. So, while they are often vilified for climate change, cattle actually offer significant benefits to the environments in which they roam.

Social Sustainability

Social sustainability emphasizes the well-being, equality, and empowerment of individuals, communities, and societies. Since the introduction of beef cattle to North America in the early to mid-nineteenth century, the ranching lifestyle has always generated community spirit with heartfelt tales of communities banding together to gather cattle ahead of winter storms or gathering around branding fires in the early spring.

Today, livestock producers remain integral to the fabric of rural Canadian life, not only providing economic support for employees living in these small communities but also contributing to their social structures and idyllic, and often sensitive, geographies. Further, ranchers and feedlot operators are often engaged in social programs for schools, local sports teams, youth programs like 4-H, and are often politically active on local committees and councils.

Best of all, Canadian cattle production allows us to purchase beef we can be proud of. A nutritionally dense, calorically efficient, environmentally sound, economically viable, socially responsible product that consumers love to eat. One might say Canadian beef is the ultimate social dish, playing a starring role on our plates when entertaining friends and family, impressing guests, and celebrating special occasions.

Looking Forward

Cattle production in the modern sense has endured for over 200 years in North America because producers have always endeavoured to provide beef sustainably. A more efficient and sustainable food system means that food can be grown with fewer negative environmental impacts and greater economic benefit while enhancing the social fabric of our communities, cultures, and country.