Alberta meat is no longer being served at Earls restaurants. We see several rows of prime red, raw meet laid out on a table.

Alberta meat is no longer being served at Earls restaurants.
Photo Credit: cbc.ca

Restaurant chain’s decision to drop Alberta beef prompts criticism and questions

A decision by a Vancouver-based restaurant chain to stop serving Alberta beef has prompted a fierce backlash from Canadian politicians and cattle ranchers.

It remains to be seen how dropping of Alberta beef will affect sales at the Earls restaurants, like this one in in North Vancouver. We look up at toward a slatted, boarded rectangular structure sitting atop a singled roof. The word
It remains to be seen how dropping of Alberta beef will affect sales at the Earls restaurants, like this one in in North Vancouver. © CP Photo/Jonathan Hayward

Earls, which has 66 restaurants in Canada and the U.S., will now purchase its meat from a supplier in the U.S. state of Kansas.

The chain made the decision after a non-profit U.S.-based animal rights organization, Humane Farm Animal Care, said not enough Alberta beef is “Certified Humane.”

According to the group, “Certified Humane” animals must not receive “unnecessary antibiotics,” must not be overcrowded in confinement systems and must live on farms whose farmers “receive a fair price for their efforts.”

The backlash–mainly on social media–has been fraught with indignation. Critics include the leader of Alberta’s opposition Wildrose Party, Brian Jean, and federal Conservative MP Jason Kenney.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley tweeted that Alberta beef is “the best in the world” and that she is “proud” of the province’s producers.

Not surprisingly, the head of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Rob McNabb, says Earls treated Alberta ranchers shabbily and said moves were already being made to meet the standards that Earls was demanding.

Alberta Beef Producers chairman Bob Lowe called the Earls decision to switch to U.S. beef is “a slap in the face.”

Cattleman in Alberta say their cattle herds are well taken care of and they were moving to meet Earls standards. We see a small group of brown and white huddled together looking off to the distance. They appear peaceful but somewhat forlorn.
Cattleman in Alberta say their cattle herds are well taken care of and they were moving to meet Earls standards. © cbc.ca

Meanwhile, animal activists are taking the decision with a very large grain of salt.

“Consumers should be aware that ‘certified humane’ is a misnomer and would more accurately be called ‘certified less inhumane,'” Anna Pippus, an attorney and the director of Farmed Animal Advocacy for Animal Justice Canada, said in a statement to RCI.

“The certification program does not offer significant improvements over industry standards. Animals can still be hot-iron branded without painkillers. They will still be confined in feed lots. At the end of their lives, they will still be loaded on the same inadequate trucks bound for the same slaughterhouses.”

As hackles rise, questions abound.

How, for instance, will the Earls decision affect the Alberta economy, already staggered by plunging oil prices? How will the backlash affect business at Earls? What does the decision mean for Canada’s growing and vibrant animal rights movement?

For some perspective, RCI spoke Friday with Debi Andrus, a marketing professor with the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.

She spoke by phone from Calgary.

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