Agricultural
17 May, 2021
Beef sustainability report card released
Animal welfare practices and tracking the industry’s sustainability credentials are top of mind for beef producers, according to the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) latest annual update.
The latest Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) annual update was launched at Beef Australia.
Chair of the sustainability steering group for the ABSF, Tess Herbert (right), said despite a year of unprecedented challenges, the report card revealed that the Australian beef industry was heading in the right direction.
“The past year has been like no other, travel restrictions, lockdowns, quarantine and global disruption have disrupted supply chains and important revenue pathways,” she said.
“Despite the many challenges, responses to our survey increased four-fold demonstrating producers are more engaged with the process of promoting industry transparency and progress.
“We’ve also seen an increase in producer satisfaction, awareness of animal welfare standards and the use of regular pain relief for cattle.”
Ms Herbert said by working with industry, customers and investors, the framework was able to provide a transparent report card on where the industry is up to in the areas they care most about.
“Extensive consultation has been undertaken to optimise indicators and collect the data not only to track performance but identify new opportunities and priority areas for the industry,” she said.
Independent Chair of the Red Meat Advisory Council, John McKillop
said this year marks five years since the council appointed the first Sustainability Steering Group and since then many other industries have followed suit.
“The Australian beef industry is at the forefront of setting global benchmarks for animal health, welfare, environmental management and product integrity,” he said.
“Australia’s beef industry supply chain set the agenda well before most other industries had even started to consider similar reporting frameworks.”
To read the update visit www.sustainable-australianbeef.com.au
