Cargill beef traceability project will reward farmers
02/11/2017
Focusing solely on operations in Canada, Cargill has said it believes that by the end of 2018 its customers will be able to supply consumers with beef that has been tracked and audited all the way along the value chain.
Cargill has called the project the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot. It will “explore and incorporate” new technologies for tracing cattle, building on systems that are already in place on farms and at its beef plant at High River, near Calgary. In the course of the year-long pilot, new technologies that participants will test include DNA testing and blockchain online database tools.
The company has secured funding for the project from fast-food chain McDonald’s, retail group Loblaw and the Swiss Chalet restaurant chain and, thanks to the support of these Cargill customers, rewards will be available to participating farmers. It said these rewards will help farmers offset the increased costs associated with implementing and running the pilot.
“Ever-more-frequently, our retail and restaurant customers ask us questions about where Canadian beef comes from and how the cattle are raised,” said Gurneesh Bhandal, Cargill’s Toronto-based beef sustainability manager. “Consumer research tells us there is a thirst for this type of information. We have been listening and learning, and our yearlong 2017-2018 sustainability pilot will help create the infrastructure needed to provide our customers and consumers with an increased level of trust in the beef they purchase and eat.”
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