Grainswest - Spring 2025

Spring 2025 Grains West 30 He cites Maple Leaf’s McCain to illustrate the nefarious nature of it all. The company president said capitalism has produced terrible, inexcusable consequences and that its trade-offs are far too great to still be accepted. Purdy says McCain has proposed a “new Charter for Capitalism,” in which he states the first element is to: “recognize multi-stakeholders equally, rejecting the primacy of shareholders, by including the environment, natural life and society as equally critical stakeholders.” Pardy finishes by stating that ESG threatens the end of apolitical commerce, establishing instead a collectivist, illiberal, manipulated economy. LOCALIZED SUSTAINABILITY Alberta Grains, director of policy, government and markets Shannon Sereda said ESG work has been carried out for years, which is to say the good work of farmers in their fields. What hasn’t been done at scale, however, is the collation and distribution of datasets to quantify the fact such work occurred. “We are still at a deficit with how we measure and report these practices,” she said. “You’re dealing with a very fragmented industry.” Sereda used the example of regenerative agriculture and said if you put 10 people in a room and ask them what it means, you get 10 different answers. That’s a problem. Who has the best agreed upon definition of a given practice? Requirements are coming, but not immediately, she said. In Canada the delay is in part due to the limitations of the country’s bulk handling system. Still, she pointed out that ESG-style disclosures and practices have long been in place. Rules that concern herbicide usage, waterways, vegetative filter strips, buffer zones and more, attest to ESG. The list will only grow, she believes. What’s more, the stripe of Canadian politicians will largely be irrelevant to ESG progress. “Farmers are focused on a change in government and think it will go away with that change, but the pressure is coming from the market, which will have an even more significant impact. It’s not just based on government. The market drive is much stronger than in the past. There’s a drive from industry.” Variability across Canada’s vast agriculture sector further complicates fair and balanced reporting and data collection. Some countries have the luxury of being so small they enjoy a single soil type and climate. Most Canadian provinces have multiple of both. On the bright side, Sereda noted Canada carries a positive narrative, and changes to sustainability obligations likely won’t be all that consequential. “We know Canadian grain is grown using techniques that are superior to other countries. How do we tell that story? That is always the question that gets asked at these industry discussions. FEATURE How do we capture that and show the markets and world we can demonstrate that?” To a degree, the true nature of ESG is relative. No different than how a maltster prefers the highest quality barley but settles for less in years when the crop is of lower than usual calibre. The same could be true country-to-country, or company-to-company, with ESG. “We have to be conscious of how that differentiates our products and who we are competing against,” said Sereda. She added that Canada absolutely has the upper hand on trade relative to other countries. “That’s because for decades farmers have voluntarily adopted practices that make sense for their farms. We are already doing the right things that achieve the outcomes ESG criteria is looking for. That puts Canada at an advantage.” The march of ESG principles into agriculture may be slow and methodical, but appears to be unstoppable. While it is seen by some as an impediment to farm business, it has also been flagged as a necessity to maintain trade.