A note from our CEO on Cattle Council's attendance at the World Wildlife Fund Conference:
We attended the Global Conference on Sustainable Beef from 1-3 November. The hosting partners of the Conference were: Cargill, Intervet, JBS, MacDonald’s, Walmart and the WWF. There were approximately three hundred attendees from all walks of life. Representatives from environmental Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), such as the WWF, were by far in the minority.
The Terms and Conditions signed by all attendees prior to attendance were to:
1. Promote mutual understanding, sharing of best practices, and maintaining civil discourse
2. Respect for diverse points of view, even when strong disagreement exists on the core issues at hand
3. Acknowledge that all beef production systems can make contributions toward improved sustainability
Note Point 3 above.
As you can see from the press statement below that followed the conference, this was far more than simply a WWF Conference:
http://www.sustainablelivestock.org/content/wwf-and-beef-industry-leaders-advance-sustainable-beef-production-through-multi-stakeholder- <http://www.sustainablelivestock.org/content/wwf-and-beef-industry-leaders-advance-sustainable-beef-production-through-multi-stakeholder->
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) had a large contingent in attendance; Canada, New Zealand and numerous south American countries were also represented. On the first day, beef producers Greg Brown, CCA President and Justin MacDonnell, Cattle Council Councillor, delivered a pictorial presentation that covered:
· what sustainability meant on their farm and that we (Australia Inc.) had a good story to tell
· there is always something to learn and some things may be able to be done better, but ongoing research and supply-chain cooperation was critically important
· Australia pointed out that sustainability was not just a producer’s responsibility
· to be environmentally sustainable, producers first had to be profitable;
· Future issue; and
· environmental legislation must be a last resort; any legislation must target those doing the wrong thing, hence not punishing those who are getting it right.
Australia’s presentation was very well received. It dovetailed nicely with the NCBA’s presentation which was delivered by their current President plus President-elect. The NCBA also had in attendance elected officials, state member organisations as well as environmental and media/issues management staff from their Denver and Washington DC offices. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association were also in attendance, albeit in a smaller group. I understand that some people back home have been critical of our attendance; rest assured that if we had not participated, we would have been conspicuous in our absence.
We engaged in private discussions with other Five Nations members on the morning of the Conference; it become immediately clear during this discussion that everybody’s messages lined up. It was greed that Australia was to play a strategic role in working in with the NCBA in certain areas of the conference to ensure our collective objectives were met.
There was a wide-ranging mix of organisations and interests represented. Reality was that we were more likely to be overrun by agri-business representatives rather than extremist environmentalists.
The best example I can find that provides a signpost as to what may be coming down the track is the McDonald’s Rainforest Alliance (Certified) coffee. See link below:
http://mcdonalds.com.au/mccafe/rainforest-alliance <http://mcdonalds.com.au/mccafe/rainforest-alliance>
While there was no mention of such a stamp of approval for beef supply, one would have to assume that this is on the radar for McDonald’s with regard to beef. It is our role to tightly engage with the likes of McDonald’s et al to ensure that if any such concept is mooted, then we are well-connected into the decision making tree. Note: McDonald’s is the number 1 purchaser globally of Australian beef.
During the second half of day 2, Greg Brown and I represented Australia in a press conference which also allowed us an opportunity to ensure a sensible message was communicated. This was a very tightly run session and Greg and I had ample opportunity to present the Australian case. For example, a suggestion from one participant that the Conference should agree on a tight framework for measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions was strongly rejected by Australia; we won this argument.
In summary, the Conference provided for an opportunity to:
· Share information
· Build relationships
· Promote what is being done right ie. the good news stories
· Focus on science-based measurable outcomes framed by the triple bottom line: economic prosperity, environmental integrity and social responsibility
In summary, the concerns we had prior to the Conference were never realized. In fact, we see real opportunity to increase dialogue with relevant stakeholders in the hope we can have a positive influence an any legislation/regulations that may be mooted in the future.
California
On the way home, given we had to depart from Los Angeles, we spent a few days visiting ranches as arranged by the Californian Cattlemen’s Association. We drove from Sacramento to LA and visited 5 or 6 ranches as well as the University of California (Davis). We focused on family, grazing operations that ranged from small scale to larger operations.
Overall, a very worthwhile visit that more than met the objectives we had set prior to departure. Many thanks to MLA, in particular Scott Hansen and his team, for coordinating the bulk of our logistics.
Regards, David Inall, CEO of Cattle Council of Australia
Listen to ABC radio interview on this report.
