THE Cattle Council of Australia (CCA) is inviting comments on a verification system for sustainable beef as the basis for certification under the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
Industry roundtables are a stalking horse for extreme green and anti-industry values.
Their creation usually begins with extremist criticisms of industry practices with threats of a campaign to expose it.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) then recommends a sustainability code of practice, presenting itself as eminently reasonable with assurances it will provide protection from the extremists.
Industry associations are usually among the first to sign up. Run by political operatives whose careers depend on dialogue, the prospect of endless negotiations over codes amounts to a job for life.
Once in place, the code is progressively revised as issues are introduced and standards raised.
WWF contributes funds to Greenpeace, while Greenpeace has confirmed it plays the role of bad cop to drive organisations to partner with groups that seem more middle-of-the-road.
The timber industry is already reeling from the impact of certification incorporated into the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act.
Some say the alternative, of relentless attacks by extremists, is worse.
But the extremists are already involved and it is their long term aims driving the agenda.
Some say the sustainability code is simply commonsense and good for the environment, and indeed it may appear that way at first.
But the code will be changed in time and won't be anywhere near as tolerable in a few years.
Some say consumers are demanding assurance the food they eat is produced sustainably. That is nonsense.
It is what consumers do that counts, not what they tell market researchers.
Some say certification can deliver a price premium, but like the supposed premium for not using growth promotants or growing non-genetically modified canola, when it comes to the crunch, it won't exist.
Some say certification cannot be avoided, with major customers like McDonalds and supermarkets demanding it. But that will only be true if enough producers are persuaded to sign up.
Until that point, it is noise and bluff.
My advice to the CCA is stop now.
Australia's beef industry has outstanding environmental credentials. The last thing it needs is WWF's notions of sustainability.
Withdraw from the roundtable process.
David Leyonhjelm is an agribusiness consultant and will become Liberal Democrats' senator for NSW in July. Click here to contact David by email
