Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Receives Responsibility to Administer 2 Million Euros from Dutch Government

Gaborone, Botswana (PRWEB) November 21, 2011

Ruaraidh Petre, chair of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB), announced today that partners of the GRSB will receive several million euros over the next four years to provide training and technology to improve the efficiency and productivity of smallholder and frontier farmers. Ultimately, the goal is to give beef producer’s better access to markets, and therefore better income levels. This will benefit the cattle, the farmers, the environment, their communities and the international buyers and consumers. This is consistent with the GRSB mission to advance continuous improvement in sustainability of the global beef value chain through leadership, science and multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration.

The funding, which will also contribute to GRSBs own structure, will come through Solidaridad as part of a larger financing arrangement with the Dutch government and will be more than doubled by matching contributions from the relevant industrial sectors involved, with GRSB affiliates in beef-producing nations across the globe.

“In this program, our affiliate multi-stakeholder initiatives will work directly with small shareholders to address key local issues in manners that are environmentally sound, economically viable and socially responsible,” said Petre. “This will benefit the producers themselves and all members of the global beef value chain as we work collaboratively to feed the needs of the growing global population in a more sustainable manner.”

“As a participating member of the GRSB, the Grupo de Trabalho da Pecuaria Sustentavel is looking forward to leveraging these funds from the GRSB to develop tools and mechanisms for the monitoring, traceability, production, purchase and financing criteria, and economic incentives for the promotion of sustainability in cattle ranching in Brazil,” said Daniela Mariuzzo, vice president of GTPS in Brazil. “This will enable us to carry out continuous improvements that are valuable for everyone in Brazil and the people across the globe who rely on us to produce sustainable beef.”

“The GRSB is a relatively young and vibrant organization whose members recognize and respect the critical role that beef cattle serve by converting plant materials into safe, wholesome and affordable food for the growing global population,” said Roger Cady, Ph.D., GRSB treasurer. “We also recognize that we cannot do this alone, so we have committed to working with strong organizations that are driven to accomplish important work throughout the value chain.

“This latest announcement by the Dutch government is a vote of confidence for our organization and demonstrates how a roundtable can harness resources for the greater good of all,” continued Cady. “We look forward to delivering science-based, measurable outcomes that are environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable.”

The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is a global multi-stakeholder roundtable initiative aimed at creating continuous improvement in the beef supply chain, by supporting activities that deliver science-based measureable outcomes focused on the issues that are a high priority to stakeholders. Current members include: Australian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Cargill, Elanco, Grupo de Trabalho da Pecuaria Sustentavel (GTPS), JBS, McDonald’s, Merck Animal Health, Rainforest Alliance, Solidaridad, The Nature Conservancy, Walmart and World Wildlife Fund.

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