Editors' Notebook

The phrase, "I'll know it when I see it" is commonly attributed to former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart who was commenting on the "contemporary community standards" rule tied to determining obscenity. The story goes that Stewart said he couldn't give a definitive definition of obscenity, but he could determine if an individual item, work or art, article, etc., was obscene by looking at it.

DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton likened Potter's position to the stance McDonald's is taking on moving toward using sustainable beef only.

Clayton's comment tickled me and -- total disclosure here -- I stole the idea for this blog entry.

Golden Arches executives can't quite tell you right now what makes beef sustainable, but they are hoping within the next two years there will be community (i.e. world) standards defining it.

McDonalds may have a point. There are quite a few definitions of "sustainable agriculture" to be found. Here are just a couple.

From the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition:

"... where a safe, nutritious, ample, and affordable food supply is produced by a legion of family farmers who make a decent living pursuing their trade, while protecting the environment, and contributing to the strength and stability of their communities."

From Wikipedia:

"The act of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. ... It has been defined as 'an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term.'"

From USDA, what they say is the LEGAL definition:

"The term 'sustainable agriculture' (U.S. Code Title 7, Section 3103) means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will over the long-term:

"Satisfy human food and fiber needs.

"Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agriculture economy depends.

"Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.

"Sustain the economic viability of farm operations.

"Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole."

And there are more.

So putting your finger on sustainable agriculture in general, much less sustainable beef production specifically, is not an easy task. Who gets to decide whether a certain practice -- or even farmstead -- is "enhancing the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole?" What if the quality of life desired by an individual farmer doesn't quite line up with the quality of life desired by society as a whole? Who trumps whom? The individual or society? And who speaks for society? It's way too philosophical a road for my tastes.

There already are many groups organized around promoting and defining sustainable beef production. Just one is The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, comprised of some pretty hard hitters in the ag and grocery industry. The Global Roundtable declares: "We envision a world in which all aspects of the beef value chain are environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable." Here is a list of its members:

Civil Society Constituency Members: Rainforest Alliance; National Wildlife Federation; Fitzroy Basin Association; World Wildlife Fund; Savory Institute; Aliance da Terra; Conservacion & Desarrollo; Fundacion Solidaridad Latinoamericana.

Commerce & Processing Constituency Members: Allflex USA Inc.; Cargill; Dow AgroSciences; Elanco Animal Health; JBS; Marfrig; Meatco; Merck Animal Health; OSI Group; Rabobank; SAI Platform; The VanDrie Gruoup; Zandbergen.

Producers and Producer Association Constituency Members: American Grassfed Association; Canadian Cattlemen's Association; 98 Ranch Inc; National Cattlemen's Beef Association; Lazy V Ranch; Willow Creek Ranch.

Retail: Darden Restaurants; McDonald's; Walmart/Sam's Club; Woolworth's Supermarkets.

National or Regional Roundtables: GTPS - Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock.

Observing Members: Dr. Judith Capper; Dr. Holly Gibbs; AB Connect & AB Sustain.

That's a worldwide list. Which brings us back to how this question -- What makes beef production sustainable? -- is different from this question -- What is obscene? The standard for determining obscenity was local community standards and sensibilities.

But beef production is a global enterprise. Beef selling, via grocery outlets or eating establishments, isn't always limited by political borders. So the standards have to be global also. That's going to be a tough row to define and hoe.

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