New film about grasslands shows why Canadians should support beef industry

It’s a lesser-known fact that Canadian grasslands are one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, disappearing at a rate of four football fields a minute.

A new documentary is trying to raise awareness about the issue.

“Guardians of the Grasslands” shares the important role grasslands play in Western Canadian culture and the real danger of losing them. Producers who raise beef cattle, however, are part of the solution.

Amie Peck from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is part of its volunteer advocacy committee. She said the “Guardians of the Grasslands” documentary was intended particularly for young Canadians, many of whom are women and live in urban areas.

There’s a fear, Peck said, that eating beef is bad for the environment when the exact opposite is true.

“You can feel good about supporting Canadian beef,” Peck said on Gormley on Friday.

She said families raising beef cattle are helping keep Canadian grasslands intact because beef cattle graze and fertilize the ground, mimicking the role bison used to play in providing these required services for the ecosystem.

Grasslands need to be grazed, for both the land to be healthy and to provide suitable environments for wildlife. Different birds that live on the grasslands, for example, need varying heights of grass for their nests. Cattle also help trample seeds into the ground, allowing natural plants to grow on the landscape.

Peck said cattle are providing hope for the plants and animals that call the grasslands home.

The purpose of the film was to change perceptions held by Canadians. As many people aren’t familiar with the country’s grasslands or agriculture professions, Peck said she hopes the film will help clear up misconceptions.

She said the film also featured many young female producers and conservationists to reach the target audience in a more relatable way.

Peck said feedback was split when the documentary was first released, with some producers calling the end of the film — which features conservationists talking about their hopes for preserving native grasslands — too emotional.

But urban-dwelling young Canadians have had an overwhelmingly positive response, with many saying they had no idea about the dangers facing Canadian grasslands, nor the solutions provided by the beef cattle industry.

Grasslands, Peck explained, present the best natural climate solution for Canada because of their ability to sequester carbon.

“Through all these narratives about reducing consumption through the loss of native grasslands, that would be a tremendous amount more greenhouse gas emissions that we would ever save from having less cattle,” Peck said.

It means Canadians don’t have to feel guilty for wanting to eat Canadian beef.

“You’re keeping carbon in the ground (and) you’re keeping an endangered ecosystem intact,” Peck said.