Canadian perspectives on beef industry sustainability

Caption: As part of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef trip, Kari visited ranches in Calgary and Alberta.

 

Kari Moffat, member of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework Steering Group, travelled to Toronto in September 2025 to attend the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) Conference as part of her Nuffield Scholarship. The event offered a diverse range of sessions and fostered open conversations about sharing knowledge in a rapidly evolving global environment.

Reflecting on her key takeaways, Kari highlighted the benefits of seeing how Canadian ranchers and conservationists were collaborating to protect the environment.

“We visited a conservation block owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), which really opened up some great discussions around the fact that conservation isn’t as simple as purchasing land and locking it up,” Kari said.

To achieve good biodiversity outcomes, active management was key.

“The NCC spoke to how producers play an important role in managing the land and that lasting conservation outcomes come from working with producers, not against them.

“It was really refreshing to hear this and it is something that really resonated with me. It would be great to see more of this type of collaborative mindset here in Australia,” Kari said.

Caption: The group visited a conservation area near Toronto. 

Demonstrating coexistence

Kari observed several similarities between Canadian and Australian sustainability initiatives, including branded programs to differentiate products linked to sustainable practices, such as the CRSB Certified program.

She believes Canada communicates particularly well about the role that ranchers play in food production and environmental management.

“They do a really good job around the messaging of the role of a producer on a larger scale. It isn’t only just food production, but also environmental management, which they impact.

“Canadian documentaries such as Guardians of the Grasslands and Home on the Range are powerful examples of how beef production and critical wildlife habitat are able to coexist and really show how interconnected those two outcomes really are,” Kari said. 

Health-conscious consumers

With the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef recently completing a global consumer research survey, Kari pointed out one of the highest-ranking sustainability themes for consumers was making healthy food choices.

“One of the key points for us working in the industry is that consumers want to ensure they are making healthy choices when it comes to food.

“We often hear that price is the main driver of purchasing behaviour. While that remains true, there is opportunity for the beef industry to continue strengthening messaging around the health benefits of consuming beef.

“The nutrient density of food products clearly matters to consumers. As an industry, this is something that we need to continue to communicate and educate people about.”