The CRSB held its Annual General Meeting and convention last week in beautiful Montreal Quebec. Once again, we had record attendance, with over 95 attendees and a sold-out industry tour. Thank you to everyone who made the time to join the event and engage with us and each other on beef sustainability in Canada.
We started off the event with a great tour including a feedlot operation and progressive dairy farm east of Montreal, and enjoyed a delicious lunch, wine tasting and tour at Vignoble Kobloth Winery. Thank you to Zoetis Canada for supporting this tour.
A reception hosted by Canada Beef, and featuring selections developed by the culinary team at the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence provided great networking opportunities for members and attendees.
The agenda included something for everyone across the beef value chain and beyond:
- National Beef Sustainability Strategy update – watch for an Interim Report coming in the new year
- Project Spotlights showcasing continuous improvement in biodiversity, animal care, food waste and tools to increase productivity for beef producers
- a Beef & Conservation Panel that explored the synergies and importance of beef production for conserving Canada’s precious grasslands and biodiversity, role of beef production in carbon sequestration, and how we can share this story with the public. The panel was moderated by Tim Hardman, World Wildlife Fund US, and featured:
- Lara Ellis – ALUS Canada;
- Kristine Tapley – Ducks Unlimited Canada, and
- Bob Lowe – Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
- A Supply Chain Panel that discussed how the whole supply chain can better connect with consumers about beef sustainability. The panel, sponsored by TrustBIX Inc. and moderated by Crystal Mackay, featured a powerhouse of panelists across the beef value chain:
- Jean-Thomas Maltais – a Quebec beef producer and Chair of Les Producteurs de bovins du Quebec
- Hubert Lau – President, TrustBIX Inc.
- Bruce Andrews – Operations Manager, Atlantic Beef Products Inc.
- Marcel Blais – President, CHOP Steakhouse
- CRSB’s 2019 Consumer Research results were presented, highlighting trends in beef sustainability, consumer perceptions about beef production and how this impacts their purchasing decisions, benchmarking / comparisons to our 2018 results, and key issues to watch and address in our communications strategy
- A Consumer Insights Panel, presented by McDonald’s, featured a fun, insightful range of consumers who provided their diverse perspectives on beef consumption, factors that affect purchasing decisions, what they think of beef and other protein alternatives, and more.
The membership adopted revised Bylaws, elected the 2019-2020 Council, and heard from each of CRSB’s committees that guide its work. We also had updates from the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops.
Throughout the meeting, a series of CRSB videos currently under development were shared, as we ramp up Communciations this coming year. Watch for an updated CRSBcertified website coming soon.
A key impact report for the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework was provided, highlighting the great work of our members and supply chain partners:
We are proud of the progress that has been made, and we see building demand and momentum for the certification program, thanks to our members and supply chain partners!
The day wrapped up with a banquet featuring beef provided by Cargill and a great keynote, presented by ATB Financial, from Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Director of the McGil Office for Science & Society, that separated fact from fiction, using science as the backbone + a little magic! Check out his new book “A Grain of Salt” coming out in October.
The CRSB’s 2019 Annual Report was released.
For members interested in the convention proceedings, presentations and videos will be posted to MyCRSB by Friday, October 4.
Thank you to our event sponsors, which made this great event a success.
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