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System Overview
Consumers provide the “pull” for the entire beef cattle production chain. It is their purchasing decisions that influence what products (and with what characteristics) are in demand. Factors that contribute to these decisions include price, meat quality (taste, texture, nutrition), availability, and how the animal was raised. This last factor is one of the most challenging to quantify.
Lack of verified data, lack of supply chain transparency, and a wealth of unregulated labels and misnomers makes it challenging for consumers to understand where their dollars are really going, and what market “pulls” their purchases are creating.
This section is intended to help provide actionable recommendations to consumers who want to make purchasing decisions that will help incentivize practices that promote sustainability, particularly for preventing the transmission of AMR.
Consumer Labels
Regulated Labels
Organic: Regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), certified organic products must contain at least 95% organic content. To be considered organic, the livestock must meet certain requirements related to space allowance and feed.1 Non-permitted claims include “100% organic” and “certified organic,” as these can be misleading and already fall under the category of organic.
Raised without the use of added hormones: This is a regulated term by the CFIA. This claim can be used as long as no hormones or beta-agonists were administered using any method throughout the animal’s entire life.
Raised without the use of antibiotics: According to the CFIA, in order to label any animal products with this claim, the animal must not have been administered any type of antibiotic through any type of administration method (including feed, water, injection, etc.) from birth to slaughter.
CRSB Certified: The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef provides a certification program run by a neutral third party. You can learn more about their certification logos here. The symbol to the right indicates that measures of sustainability have been met through the entire chain of custody, including beef producers and processors.
Unregulated Labels and Misnomers
Hormone-free: All cattle have naturally occurring hormones. Additional hormonal growth promotants are used in beef cattle to increase lean tissue growth. As this term can be misleading, the CFIA considers its use to not be acceptable.
Antibiotic-free: This term can be misleading as animals that have been treated with antibiotics are considered antibiotic-free after the specific withdrawal period of the drug. It does not mean that the animal has never received antibiotics. All meat at the retail level in Canada is antibiotic-free.
Grass-fed: This is a non-regulated label. Grass-fed means that at some point in the cattle’s life, they have eaten grass. It does not mean that they have only been fed grass. All cattle raised in Canada have grass as a part of their diet and fall into this category.
Grass-finished: This is a non-regulated label. Grass-finished means that the cattle spend their final weight-gaining stage feeding on grass, likely on pasture. It does not mean that the animal has had a diet purely made of grass.
Pasture-raised: This is a non-regulated label. Cattle raised on a pasture and later moved to a feedlot can still fall into this category.
Sustainable/ethically/humanely raised: These are non-regulated labels. Aspects of these claims may fall under the regulated term of organic.
System Opportunities
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Consumer Level:
