Twitter Battle: Brad Wall calls out A&W on claims regarding Canadian Beef quality.

[WiltonRanch]

Sorry my mention of antibiotic free in relation to CDN beef for A&W was maybe wrong - although the Meyer program that supplies the US beef to A&W is antibiotic free. They need the extra fat off young cattle hence the need for trim, cull cattle alone wouldn't supply what they need.
Not sure why you say our system doesn't allow producer signed declarations. I sign them at two outlets I sell at - one auction mart and one private buyer business.
Sorry to spoil the illusion but we really don't have a traceability system in Canada. Every animal slaughtered has to have a CCIA ear tag but that does not tell you anything about where it's been in it's life or what it may have been treated with. A cull cow may be wearing the tag from the ranch she was born on or one slapped on at the last place she lived - no way of knowing which or where she was between times - no traceability, no accountability, no enforcement. The Americans may be even more backward with their attitudes to a national traceability system but they do have programs like Meyers with higher degrees of traceability than we have in Canada.

Traceability needs to be an industry backed program with added incentives. The tag thing is a trace back in case of disease. That's all. Even the angus tags you put in don't garner any premium at the farm gate. What you're doing with your cattle Grass, direct marketing grass fed beef is about as good as it gets. Any of these grandois value chain blah blah stuff starts out maybe alright but eventually the added benefit for the producer disappears for the extra work and bother involved.