PRESS-RELEASE

U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef kicks-off fourth general assembly meeting

Wisconsin State Farmer

The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s (USRSB) fourth annual General Assembly Meeting began May 2, drawing more than 140 diverse stakeholders interested in continuously improving the sustainability of beef production.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s (USRSB) fourth annual general assembly meeting began May 2, drawing more than 140 diverse stakeholders interested in continuously improving the sustainability of beef production. These stakeholders spent the next two days discussing, exploring, and learning about the environmental, economic and social factors impacting the U.S. beef industry.

“We can learn more by being open and by examining sustainability through a variety of lenses,” said Rickette Collins, the 2017 – 2018 USRSB Chair. “This is what makes events like the USRSB General Assembly Meeting unique and valuable for the beef community.”

The highlight of the USRSB General Assembly Meeting is the presentation of the group’s Sustainability Framework; a comprehensive set of resources developed by the USRSB membership to help the beef value-chain assess their individual sustainability efforts.

“The USRSB Sustainability Framework is the first of its kind, approaching beef sustainability in a holistic and unique way by examining important areas our industry can impact, and individual approaches to continuously improving the production, processing, and distribution of beef,” Collins said.

Attendees had an opportunity to witness some of these approaches first-hand through a sustainability tour offered prior to the General Assembly Meeting. The tour visited Lopez Foods, a beef processing plant, Express Ranches, a seedstock operation, and Haines Ranch, a cow-calf operation.

Other highlights of the General Assembly include a consumer insights panel by Millennium Research, beef consumer research by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and a panel discussion about life cycle assessments for the animal protein industries.

The event agenda also includes updates from the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.

“From supporting pilots and projects to developing a complete Framework to assess sustainability, the USRSB has achieved so much in just short three years. We hope to build on this momentum as we begin collecting feedback from the public.”