The Canadian arm of Walmart has locked in enough of a supply of certified-sustainable beef to label its entire Your Fresh Market burger patty line accordingly.
The retail giant announced Monday it’s now sourcing beef from “certified sustainable” farms and ranches according to standards set by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB).
The company didn’t give numbers for how much CRSB-standard beef it expects to purchase, but said it would be “a large enough quantity of beef from sustainable sources” that it has been granted permission to have a sustainability certification label on each package of Your Fresh Market patties.
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With that label claim, Walmart Canada, which already sources all its beef in Canada, will be “the first grocery retailer in Canada to achieve this milestone.”
“Offering this new line of beef patties with sustainability certification is part of our journey and a proud moment for our entire team,” Walmart Canada CEO Horacio Barbeito said in the company’s release. “Our ongoing partnership with the CRSB helps drive the shared goal of advancing sustainability within the Canadian beef industry.”
The CRSB, through the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework it launched in late 2017, provides farms, ranches and processors with a tool for certification meeting sustainability standards, and salso upports retail and foodservice companies in meeting their sustainable-sourcing commitments.
The CRSB also provides “sustainability messaging” for consumers, by way of marketing labels and claims for beef from certified-sustainable operations.
The new CRSB claim for the Walmart burger line, for example, “represents an opportunity for a whole-system transformation and continued progress across the beef supply chain,” the retailer said Monday.
“The label will help Canadians understand the sustainable practices that are used and how their food is raised, so that they can better understand how that contributes to a sustainable food system,” CRSB chair Anne Wasko said in the same release.
“We want all Canadians to feel confident that in choosing CRSB-certified products, they are making the right choices for themselves and their families, and for our planet, while also supporting farmers and ranchers across Canada.”
Walmart — which has already moved to improve sustainable sourcing of commodities such as seafood, pulp and paper — said it will launch the beef line “in time for the summer barbecue season in Canada,” including regular, bacon cheddar and mushroom-infused offerings. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
