JBS blazing sustainable-beef trail

GREELEY – JBS USA is leading a worldwide initiative to define “sustainable beef” as the embattled industry seeks to utilize more environmentally sensitive, humane methods to raise cattle.

The Greeley-based subsidiary of Brazilian meatpacker JBS S.A. embarked on the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef initiative with other companies in 2010 and plans to release a draft definition of sustainable beef next month. Operator of a beef processing plant in Greeley with a daily capacity of 5,400 cattle, JBS employs approximately 4,200 people locally.

The group’s members include corporate giants Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY); Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE: MRK); Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT); Cargill Inc., which has a meat processing facility in Fort Morgan; and McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), which earlier this month pledged to use sustainable beef. The initiative aims to address problems in the beef industry ranging from Amazon deforestation to methane emissions from cattle.  

A spokeswoman for Merck’s animal-health business unit said the company was “committed to the conversation around thoughtful, responsible production in this area,” but did not comment further.

Also involved in the initiative are the environmental group World Wildlife Fund and Solidaridad, an organization that aims to develop sustainable supply chains. Spokespeople for both organizations said representatives of their organizations were traveling internationally and unavailable for comment.

The effort to promote sustainable beef comes as the beef industry faces scrutiny over some of its practices. Merck recently suspended sales of its cattle growth supplement Zilmax, once used in cattle processed by JBS and other companies, because it may pose risks to cattle, a Reuters investigation found in December. Some reports indicate Zilmax-fed animals were missing hooves, but Zilmax-maker Merck disputes that the hoof loss is due to its drug.

McDonald’s, for its part, says that 70 percent of its greenhouse-gas emissions come from its supply chain, 40 percent of which stems from beef.

“Our investment in sustainability is not a line item,” spokesman Jon Rump said. “Rather, it is part of the cost of doing good, socially responsible business. It is a long-term commitment by McDonald’s.”

The company’s purchases represent almost 2 percent of the total beef and dairy industries’ annual output. McDonald’s plans to start using sustainable beef by 2016, although like others in the industry, it has not yet defined the phrase.

“Our big task right now that we are working diligently on is defining global sustainable beef,” said Cameron Bruett, chief sustainability officer for JBS and president of the sustainable beef initiative. “This is a broad definition that can be applied globally.”

Diverse cattle-raising systems worldwide have made that a challenging assignment, Bruett said. Sustainability has a variety of meanings to people involved in the beef industry. It could mean greenhouse-gas emission reductions desired by environmental groups. It could mean long-term success to a cattle rancher or worker’s rights for a labor union.

“Sustainability is a broad term that encompasses three pillars: economic, social and environmental,” he said. “No matter where you travel around the world, sustainability can mean different things to different parties depending upon the lens through which they’re viewing it.”

JBS is looking at water, natural resources and energy use as well as greenhouse-gas emissions and the rights of indigenous people worldwide where cattle are raised, Bruett said. JBS has been involved in these kinds of sustainability efforts locally, such as the recent installation of a stack to reduce odor from its Greeley beef plant.

Ultimately, JBS and other beef industry players will develop a common framework for sustainability. It will release a draft definition for global public comment in March and will release a final definition in August in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the initiative’s second global conference.

“This is not something we can accomplish alone,” he said. “It’s going to take not only our competitors, such as Cargill and (Marfrig Global Foods S/A), but our customers such as Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and others.”

Cargill, which processes 4,500 cattle daily at its Fort Morgan beef plant, has committed to the project.

“It’s very important, as a food producer, to respect and take care of the resources that ultimately create that food that feeds the world: whether it’s water, whether it’s land,” Cargill spokesman Mike Martin said. “That’s becoming of more pressing importance as the world population moves toward 9 billion people around 2050.”

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