Defining sustainable beef production

But what does it really mean for the current and future operations of agricultural beef enterprises?

In the first of many proposed webinars, the Southern Branch of the Australian Association of Animal Science introduced Maeve Harding who explained her understanding of the term 'sustainable' in relation to her sphere of influence.

Many are aware of the three key principles of sustainability, which is the social and community responsibility, environment stewardship and economic resilience but where do those concepts fit within organisations?

Maeve Harding, is the sustainability manager with Fulton Market Group (FMG), the global organisation responsible for procuring the beef raw material for the international McDonald's system in various markets including USA, Canada, Middle East, North and South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand and she has oversight from her office in Sydney.

"A term commonly used with sustainability is 'holistic management' and definitely at FMG there is a sense of having a holistic approach to how we operate," Ms Harding said.

"Sustainability looks and means something different to different operations."

In relation to the beef industry, Ms Harding note key criteria identified by the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework concerning animal husbandry, profitability, balance between ground cover and managing climate risk and the health and safety of the people working in the industry.

"Sustainability is very much a journey of continual improvement and further defining best practice within our industry to operate more efficiently and meet the needs and expectations of our customers."

Of the challenges ahead for the red meat industry and her role as Sustainability Manager at FMG, Ms Harding noted FMG is well positioned to participate in the collaborative process towards a sustainable future for the beef industry.

"I'm so excited to be a part of that future," she said.

"It is important to be able to communicate and we have already seen an increase in customer desire to understand where their products are coming from.

"And there has been an emergence of marketing and branding of certain attributes such as carbon neutral beef"

Ms Harding emphasised the need to be proactive and taking particular note of customer requirements.

"We need to effectively communicate the efforts already being done by industry," she said.

"At the end of the day we are are producing a product which is exceeding the expectations of the consumer."

It is important they feel good about purchasing and consuming that product, and Ms Harding said food safety and quality is a key issue with FMG.

Environmental concerns are also forefront in any sustainability discussion within FMG especially as they have a vested interest in the longevity and prosperity of the beef industry.

"We are working on a strategic working model and in the USA we are recording our road mileage for our deliveries and associated carbon emissions," Ms Harding said.

"We think it very important to invest in our people and the FMG community so we do a lot of training and support upskilling so everyone has the skills to do their job."

FMG are members of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework and also participate in other industry forums.

"There is quite a range of issues which fall under the remit of sustainability for FMG," Ms Harding admitted.

"And I think there is a lot of opportunity to develop initiatives and practices to ensure the beef industry continues to be a great asset to Australian communities."

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