Heather Travis Beef Information Centre April 2010
Current Article | Archive | Back to Island Voices
Every day is Earth Day for Canada’s 80,000 beef producers
Heather Travis, Beef Information Centre
This month Canadians are celebrating Earth Day, but for Canada’s 80,000 beef producers, every day is Earth Day. Caring for the land is what they do 365 days a year. Why? Because caring for the land and water their cattle graze on ensures not only a healthy beef product for Canadians, but a healthy environment for us all.
To see real examples of just how Canadian cattle producers contribute to a healthy earth 365 days a year, check out the winners of The Environmental Stewardship Awards.
DID YOU KNOW?
Canada’s cattle producers know that the process of growing food impacts our environment. They strive to minimize that impact and provide a safe, nutritious and affordable product. For the most part their conservation and land management practices go largely unreported.
- The temperate grasslands where cattle graze are twice as efficient at storing carbon as are temperate forests. People can’t eat grasses, but cattle do.
- Pastures exist where our food crops can’t, on land that is too steep or cold or inaccessible to farm machinery. In Canada, nearly one third of our agricultural land is unsuitable for crops but is suitable for grasses which are used to raise cattle and support wildlife.