The $350,000 trial, 50:50 funded by industry and the Government, has proven it is possible to produce a beef patty sustainably right across the supply chain in NZ.
Key players in the red meat industry partnered with the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund to develop the model for producing independently verified sustainable beef through the entire supply chain.
The project aimed to help meet the growing demand for ethically sourced and sustainable products.
“The project showed that NZ can do this, and the model can be scaled up, so this really is an encouraging milestone,” MPI director investment programmes Steve Penno said.
“It provides transparency to customers and the public in a way that hasn’t been possible before.”
The trial used the McDonald’s supply chain as a test case.
Grant Bunting | February 24, 2021 from GlobalHQ on Vimeo.
Three processing companies – ANZCO Foods, Silver Fern Farms and Greenlea – and six beef farms, together with Beef + Lamb NZ, collaborated to work out how to meet sustainability requirements.
The pilot focused on the sustainable principles of economic, environmental and social responsibility.
It involved an independent audit and verification of the supply chain’s sustainability, including on-farm meat processing and patty production.
It also aimed to address the stakeholder expectations identified in the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) and NZ Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (NZRSB) materiality studies completed in 2019.
Priorities included water quality and water use, animal welfare and on-farm environmental management.
The trial showed that the NZ Farm Assurance Programme Plus (NZFAP+) developed under the RMPP is an important part of demonstrating NZ’s ability to produce sustainable beef on-farm.
NZFAP+ complements and builds on the existing Farm Assurance Programme, with three additional components being farm environment, people and biosecurity.
It has been designed to protect and enhance all resources, create better and more sustainable farming businesses, and incorporate socially responsible and ethical practices.
This programme is expected to be rolled out more widely in April.
The NZRSB will look at building on the success of the pilot project by involving more farms and promoting the adoption of NZFAP+.
“Many farmer practices are already sustainable and we hope that over time these practices will be adopted as the new norm,” NZRSB chair Grant Bunting said.
“We have the opportunity to be world leaders and consciously create a complete food package that is better for the planet.”
McDonald’s Restaurants NZ, which serves 1.6 million people across the country every week, says it is proud to play a role in moving the industry further towards sustainable practices.
“More and more our customers are asking us how our beef is produced,” McDonald’s Restaurants NZ managing director Dave Howse said.
“We need to change and evolve with the times and we also need to lead.
“Sustainability is one of those areas where we really feel we can work with industry to move things forward.”
Penno says it has been pleasing to see the wider-industry working together for a common goal rather than competing with each other to see who can be the most sustainable.
