Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Harvest Road Group joins Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef

WA billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Harvest Road company has made another major commitment to animal welfare after joining influential lobby group the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Harvest Road Group made the announcement last week, with Mr Forrest saying consumers had a right to know what was on their plate “didn’t come from pain or fear”. “We want to make it easier for consumers to be able to endorse good animal welfare practices with their own choices at the supermarket or in restaurants,” he said. “We need a lift in industry standards that aims for far higher levels of welfare than are currently articulated in industry standards, guidelines or legislation, and seek to reform industry across the globe.” Harvest Road chief executive Paul Slaughter said animal welfare practices in Australia were generally positive and many companies had invested significant time and money in exceeding current standards. “Our aspiration is to work across the sector to ensure that the standards articulate the good work that is happening in Australia,” he said. “This enables continuous improvement.” Mr Slaughter said animal welfare requirements in Australia were fragmented, with all States and Territories responsible for their own legislation. “This makes it difficult to deliver reform that is consistent across the nation but by no means impossible,” he said. “Sustainable reform will be delivered if we do this together with the industry — producers and processors, retailers, governments and consumers.” Harvest Road is a WA-based company that grows a range of ethically-produced beef and seafood products for consumers and wholesalers in domestic and export markets. It is part of the Tattarang group, one of Australia’s largest private investment groups, and includes the Harvey Beef brand. The roundtable includes international industry leaders such as McDonald’s, Burger King and JBS Foods, and representative bodies including Meat and Livestock Australia, Cattle Council of Australia, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Beef and Lamb New Zealand. GRSB’s vision statement is for “a world where beef is a trusted part of a thriving food system in which the beef value chain is environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable”. GRSB executive director Ruaraidh Petre said Harvest Road was “a business with values that clearly align with ours and that of our members”. “Working with partners such as Harvest Road will help us achieve our mission for beef to be more environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable,” he said. Joining GRSB is just the latest move Harvest Road has made towards promoting animal welfare reform after the launch last August of its No Pain, No Fear Campaign. The campaign challenges the industry to ensure all animals in animal protein supply chains globally are free from avoidable pain or fear. “NPNF’s initial focus is on the welfare of cattle, given Harvest Road’s extensive integrated beef supply chain,” a spokesperson said.