Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 11/20/14


Several consumer, animal welfare, public health and environmental organizations have signed a letter harshly criticizing the Global Roundtable on Sustainable Beef’s (GRSB) recently approved sustainability principles and criteria for beef production.

In a letter addressed to the Roundtable’s executive committee, 23 groups — including Consumer Reports, Food and Water Watch and Friends of the Earth — said "We — and no doubt many other organizations like us — must overwhelmingly reject the Principles and Criteria for Global Sustainable Beef. Unless the GRSB addresses the fundamental flaws outlined in our letter, the document will represent nothing more than an industry-led attempt to greenwash conventional beef production at a time when real, measurable and verifiable change is so desperately needed." 

The groups’ criticisms include that:
• The GRSB’s criteria lack specific measurable performance standards, guidelines and verification methods;
• The criteria fail to address the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock;
• The Roundtable does not address what the opposing organizations say are the “key, inherent environmental problems associated with confinement beef production;”
• The published criteria do not “establish meaningful standards for workers’ rights, animal welfare or environmental performance.”

In response, Ruaraidh Petre, executive director of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, released a statement that said, in part:
“[The letter] demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding not only of the global beef production system, but the committed and diligent work of Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef member organizations and individuals. … The command and control approach proffered by [the activist groups] is an attempt to force change through mandates or standardized 'one-size-fits-all’ production systems that would lead to counterproductive outcomes at best.

“Contrary to the assertions made by Friends of the Earth, many of the issues identified in today’s letter were considered and included in the final Principles and Criteria document. In several instances, the critiques offered are simply incorrect.

As a roundtable, we invite the participation of any individual or organization committed to a sustainable future for the global beef value chain and our planet, from ranchers, to consumers and NGOs. … World Wildlife Fund, Solidaridad, the Rainforest Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, Earth Innovation Institute and the Savory Institute … have joined a collaborative effort to drive positive change on behalf of the planet, people, animals and progress. We are confident that our efforts will lead to a more sustainable future for us all.”

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