Beef's deforestation definition on show; Green groups crank up the hustle

Producers, consumers and businesses involved in the beef supply chain have two weeks to provide feedback on Cattle Australia's first crack at the definition.

The peak representative body for grassfed cattle producers has released an information paper on what it is calling a Land Management Commitment, designed to allow landholders to demonstrate their deforestation-free credentials.

The work has largely been fueled by planned European Union regulation for the start of next year, whereby suppliers of commodities like beef, wood and coffee will have to prove their goods are not linked with deforestation.

That is only the sharp edge, with multi-national businesses around the world signing up to the Science Based Targets Initiative to play their role in addressing climate change. Among many measures, the initiative advocates setting zero deforestation targets no later than 2025.

Against that backdrop is the challenge that both definitions of forest, and criteria for how deforestation-free status is proven, are not clear.

CA has thus joined forces with the likes of processors and supermarkets to draft the definition via the LMC and this week released an information paper for everyone to consider.

Chief executive officer Chris Parker said landing a credible definition for 'land that is predominantly under agricultural use' was a central focus for the work because that flowed on to inform definitions of 'forest' and 'deforestation'.

"Through this process, we are balancing the need to empower producers to undertake sustainable agricultural practices, protect our natural systems and maintain market access," he said.

The work is being watched like a hawk by groups such as the Wilderness Society, Greenpeace and Australian Conservation Foundation, who have put out their own guide for businesses in the beef supply chain to follow to ensure beef is deforestation-free.

Their media campaign to discredit CA's efforts has been extensive and sensationalistic, with Hannah Schuch, Queensland campaigns manager for the Wilderness Society, labelling it a "blatant attempt to create deforestation loopholes".

In a joint response, the three groups said the paper attempts to allow the destruction of threatened species habitat through creating enormous exemptions for agriculture.

These exemptions would mean forests in the areas where most of Australia's deforestation was occurring, including land for grazing, would be exempt from deforestation commitments, they argued.

Corporate communications experts say the well-resourced, highly strategical methods of these groups will likely result in strong mainstream media uptake of their message, something they say the beef industry is going to have to be very conscious of as it attempts to build balance into the debate.

A key element of the information paper is a voluntary credential the supply chain could seek to align with. This pathway would empower producers to make informed decisions regarding economic incentives for alignment, without imposing any additional legal obligations, the paper argues.

The information paper outlines Australian state and territory legislation and influential international frameworks, including from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Accountability Framework Initiative and EU Deforestation Regulation.

It effectively applies the Australian agricultural context and landscapes, and geographical sizes, to those frameworks.

"A key focus of this work is to provide clarity in a way that is internationally credible and fit-for-purpose in Australia," Dr Parker said.

It also pays regard to global food security requirements.

Another feature is a list of case studies used to help clarify how the policy would work in implementation; along with a "make-good mechanism" which paves the way the land management practices could be applied retrospectively to minimise the risk of producers being excluded from markets.

Consultation on the information paper will close at midnight on June 23. The information paper and feedback form is available on the Cattle Australia website.