Saskatchewan agriculture minister, and beef producer, Lyle Stewart says the decision by the restaurant chain Earls to back away from buying American ‘certified humane’ beef was the right thing to do.
The chain faced tremendous backlash, particularly on social media, when it announced last week it would buy U.S. beef through that particular marketing program.
Producers and others said that implied Canadian practices weren’t humane just because the beef wasn’t certified.
Stewart said he was pleased to hear Earls “make a good first step.”
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“I think there’s still some work to do,” he told reporters in Regina. “I hope that Earls will work with the industry to really come to appreciate what’s available in Canada.”
He said producers have to do a better job of telling the public how beef is produced. Stewart said producers here are expected to comply with the beef code of practice from birth to humane slaughter.
“Certainly, we have niche producers in this country, too, that do even more things that companies like Earls might appreciate,” he said. “We’re not saying for a second that they shouldn’t be free to go to the United States or anyplace else to get their product if they see fit but we’re also saying that there’s no reason to in this circumstance.”
Earls was taken to task far more than A & W was for its ‘better beef’ campaign. Stewart said Earls is a western Canadian company and probably more sensitive to the backlash in its market.
“I’m still hoping that they’ll see the light someday,” he said of A & W.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
