At OBE Organic, we have a clear mandate for sustainability that applies to our people, our planet and our products.
Because our products are all made from beef, our mandate applies to the ethical and sustainable treatment of animals.
Take a look at how we ensure our beef is produced in an ethical way:
Our commitment to the ethical treatment of animals
Animal welfare is an important part of an organic livestock program and everyone in our supply chain has a responsibility to treat animals well.
On certified organic cattle properties, annual organic certification inspections ensure cattle have stocking rates appropriate for the region, taking into consideration feed production capacity, health, nutrient balance and environmental impact.
Our goal is to lead positive global change in the welfare of animals that live on rangelands. We aim to ‘change for good’, with the right focus on process and behaviour.
Key components of our animal welfare strategy are to:
- Develop a process to monitor performance using existing data
- Participate in industry animal welfare initiatives
- Enhance our feedback loop to producers using behaviour theory to nudge change.
Human handling and slaughter
Slaughter is the final step in a series of events that can be stressful to animals:
namely mustering, loading, transport and unloading.
Following a humane slaughter process ensures that moments immediately prior to slaughter do not cause unnecessary suffering or distress for the cattle raised by OBE Organic’s suppliers.
At OBE Organic, we produce beef ethically by:
- Ensuring staff are aware of and understand relevant animal welfare legislation.
- Handling animals in a manner that does not compromise their welfare.
- Transporting cattle as often as possible using TruckCare-Accredited Operators.
- Monitoring the effectiveness of pre-slaughter stunning.
- Providing prompt feedback from the processor back to the producer
The way we see it, making progress and raising standards across the industry with regards to
animal welfare is everybody’s business. Prompt feedback from the processor back to the producer is one way in which animal welfare (and health) can be monitored and improved on-farm & throughout the supply chain.
It’s a cow’s life
Cattle raised on OBE Organic farms have room to move. All the animals we breed are grown on vast properties . Generally, there is one beast to 150 acres, which equates to 50-80 hectares.
Our organic beef is not penned in and each cow is free to roam and graze to its heart’s content. This is part of what contributes to the unique, grass-fed flavour of the resulting beef and steaks.
The world’s best organic grass fed beef
OBE Organic provides enough certified organic grass fed beef to provide almost 17 million, 200
gram servings of lean and nutritious beef each year.
Our ethically produced beef is free from chemicals, added hormones, growth promotants and GMOs. Because it is grass fed, it contains healthy omega-3 fats and is packed with vitamins and minerals .
Our supply chain begins with certified organic cattle producers: family farmers who have chosen organic livestock production as a way of life. Their properties are certified by third-party auditors to comply with Australia’s National Standards for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce and the
United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (USDA NOP).
Cattle are transported to a USDA-approved certified organic processing facility under strict, certified organic standards. All feed provided to animals in transit is organically certified and, on arrival at the processing facility, cattle are kept in yards dedicated exclusively to organic stock.
Visit the OBE Organic website to find out more about our commitment to ethical beef production.
