Inside an agricultural exhibition constructing on the Calgary Stampede, youngsters practise rotating cattle by totally different areas of pasture, incomes “carbon factors” as they go if they will keep away from under- or overgrazing the land.
They’re enjoying Guardians of the Grasslands, a pc recreation that was produced with funding from a authorities grant program, the charitable arm of the Canadian Cattle Affiliation (CCA) and Geese Limitless Canada, which conserves and restores wetlands. The sport is primarily based on a brief documentary of the identical identify that was produced by the CCA, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Geese Limitless.
Each the sport and the documentary are a part of the trade’s broader objective to push again towards beef’s unhealthy rap and to as a substitute promote the concept cattle grazing could be good for the surroundings — a manner of preserving native grasslands (which may, in flip, act as a carbon sink).
“Generally what you thought was the issue is actually the answer,” the documentary’s tagline reads.
In keeping with Atmosphere and Local weather Change Canada, agriculture is accountable for 30 per cent of Canada’s whole methane emissions — and 71 per cent of that’s attributed to beef manufacturing.
Bettering the trade’s environmental popularity could possibly be an uphill battle, as considerations mount in regards to the influence of methane emissions, and well-liked science articles steadily tout decreasing beef consumption as a easy approach to reduce one’s carbon footprint.
However ranchers say sustainability is a long-standing precedence for them — one thing that has grow to be extra vital as customers grow to be additional faraway from the method of meals manufacturing and extra involved in regards to the influence of the meals they eat.
“It’s simply one thing that I believe has risen to the highest of the dialog with the remainder of the society,” mentioned Ryder Lee, basic supervisor of the Canadian Cattle Affiliation. “As a substitute of being busy ranching, we have now to reply that decision.”
Whereas beef demand stays robust, the trade is properly conscious of the criticism across the carbon depth of manufacturing beef and is ramping up its public relations marketing campaign to win the hearts and wallets of Canadians.
Whether or not that message resonates with customers stays an open query that might have excessive stakes for the roughly $22-billion trade.
Cattle and grasslands
The Guardians of the Grasslands movie says beef cattle could be optimistic for the ecosystem, as cows have taken on the position that bison traditionally performed in grazing the prairie grasslands and sustaining their equilibrium.
“With 74 per cent of Canada’s native grasslands now misplaced endlessly, preserving what’s left is vital,” the documentary says.
The pc recreation model, which is meant to be performed after viewing the documentary, was launched within the spring.
“We’ve had beef trade sources earlier than, however nothing that was gamified,” mentioned Amie Peck, the CCA’s stakeholder engagement supervisor. “We’re actually hoping that that’s of curiosity to lecturers.”
Tim McAllister, a analysis scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Meals Canada primarily based in Lethbridge, Alta., mentioned the Grasslands documentary makes a level: Cattle do play a job in sustaining grasslands — which play a job in sequestering carbon — and in preserving the biodiversity of those areas.
“If we domesticate up these grasslands, we find yourself releasing quite a lot of carbon because of that cultivation course of,” he mentioned.
The influence of the meat trade, McAllister mentioned, includes extra than simply the surroundings: Elevating cattle is a lifestyle for many individuals, and the custom across the trade can profit communities.
College of Saskatchewan analysis assistant Kaitlyn Nielsen exhibits how a inexperienced feeder works to lure cattle, so the staff can gather methane samples from their nasal vapours.
‘Nobody good meals manufacturing system’
Strictly taking a look at emissions, although, the environmental influence of beef manufacturing is “a lot increased” than for another type of animal protein, mentioned Jim Dyer, an agro-environmental marketing consultant in Cambridge, Ont., who’s studied the environmental influence of proteins for greater than a decade.
That’s partly because of the methane emissions that come from cow burps, he mentioned, and partly as a result of cows are merely a a lot much less environment friendly animal to boost than different sources of protein, resembling pigs and chickens.
Elevating beef on grass may help sequester carbon and profit biodiversity, he mentioned, although the quantity of carbon sequestered this fashion doesn’t make up for the larger general emissions produced in elevating beef.
Dyer suggests folks ought to typically select pork over beef once they need to eat crimson meat, and go for grass-fed over grain-fed beef when potential.
As for McAllister, he mentioned it’s as much as folks to resolve for themselves what to eat, whether or not that features meat and the way a lot.
“However they should notice that there’s trade-offs, there’s nobody good meals manufacturing system,” he mentioned.
Plans to spice up beef exports
Past declaring the position that cattle play in preserving grasslands, the trade has additionally pledged to scale back its carbon depth general, together with a dedication to chop a 3rd of its main manufacturing greenhouse gasoline emission depth by 2030.
Requested about progress made towards that objective, the chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Ryan Beierbach, mentioned in an interview that an evaluation has simply wrapped up and outcomes can be launched to the general public quickly.
The federal authorities, for its half, has expressed a vote of confidence within the trade and its sustainability goals. At a funding announcement held on the Calgary Stampede final week, officers applauded the Canadian cattle sector — with a consultant for the federal agriculture minister saying the trade has carried out a “great job at elevating beef sustainably.”
In a information launch, the federal government touted a determine from the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, which mentioned the general greenhouse gasoline emissions of Canadian beef manufacturing have a complete footprint of 11.4 kilograms CO2 equal, which it says is lower than half the world’s common.
“That’s the story that we need to inform the world, and at this time’s announcement is definitely going to assist inform that story all over the world,” MP Francis Drouin, parliamentary secretary to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, mentioned at an announcement that pledged $12 million for analysis into sustainable agriculture.
Drouin mentioned the notion that folks ought to merely cease consuming beef to scale back their environmental influence is a “failing technique” and that the main focus ought to as a substitute be on decarbonizing the method of cattle manufacturing.
Whereas Canadian beef exports nonetheless lag behind different international locations, resembling america and Brazil, the federal authorities hopes to ramp them up within the years forward. Japan has reopened its doorways to Canadian imports, and Ottawa plans to open a brand new Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Meals workplace in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
“The world is in search of Canadian beef, [and] we all know that we have now an incredible nice story to inform,” Drouin mentioned.
How a lot does sustainability matter?
Again at dwelling, although, it’s not clear if customers’ notion of beef and sustainability will make a lot of a distinction to the trade’s backside line.
Kevin Grier, a livestock and meat market analyst primarily based in Guelph, Ont., mentioned whereas customers could say environmental points matter to them, style and value are inclined to beat out these considerations on the subject of selections on the grocery retailer.
Regardless of rising charges of vegetarianism, Statistics Canada information exhibits that Canadians’ demand for beef has remained “very, very robust,” tempered solely barely by excessive costs, he mentioned.
These costs are anticipated to proceed to maneuver increased as western Canadian beef producers take care of drought circumstances and a few ranchers cull their herds. Contemporary and frozen beef costs rose 9 per cent prior to now yr, outpacing different protein sources.
“That’s the difficulty I believe that’s attention-grabbing, is what position beef goes to play within the meat case within the subsequent couple of years,” Grier mentioned.
As for Ryder Lee, the CCA’s basic supervisor, he mentioned speaking about sustainability has grow to be a precedence whether or not it interprets to gross sales or not.
“Public opinion builds up over time,” he mentioned. “If we simply keep on with our knitting and lift cattle and don’t speak about what we’re doing, what we’ve discovered is selections get made for us.
About 17 Alberta colleges have up to now registered to make use of the Guardians laptop recreation. The group hopes to supply variations tailor-made towards different provinces to allow them to be utilized in lecture rooms throughout the nation this fall.