A letter from Jon Nash, Corporate Senior Vice President, Cargill Protein & Salt
Our purpose at Cargill is to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. This is more important than ever. The Earth’s population is expected to increase 25% by 2050, from 7.8 billion to nearly 10 billion people. And global demand for protein will grow as incomes rise.
We have a big responsibility at Cargill – and farmers, ranchers and our plant employees throughout North America all play a critical role. We’re supporting them to do more with less: to raise more food, more efficiently, using less land, less water and fewer resources.
The power of beef
We know that beef provides high-quality protein, with essential nutrients to nourish families around the world. The beef industry also contributes over 80 billion dollars to the U.S. economy each year, supporting the livelihoods of ranchers, farmers, their families and communities – millions of people are impacted by the beef supply chain.
We have a huge opportunity to make a positive impact. Our role is to work alongside farmers and ranchers, to advance creative new sustainability ideas and accelerate good conservation practices within the industry.
It’s a huge challenge, but I am passionate about this work, and excited about the advances we’re making.
My past, present and future
I spent my early years on my family’s farm, where we raised Cargill Honeysuckle White turkeys, along with cattle, corn, beans and milo, a typical diversified farm. My dad always had the highest respect for Cargill.
He also taught me that we have a responsibility to care for the animals and the land we are entrusted with, now and for future generations. I learned to respect the land on our family farm, and I carry that responsibility forward to protect the Earth’s resources – for my daughter, and for future generations.
Making changes for what’s coming next
That mindset of environmental stewardship has been with me throughout my career at Cargill. We believe that agriculture is how we’re going to feed a growing population and help protect the planet.
We’re investing time, people power and money — putting millions of dollars each year into ensuring we make a real impact. Our focus and investments in sustainability are really moving forward.
More than 20 years ago, we started adding technologies and efficiency projects into our plants, like methane capture to replace natural gas in our boilers, reducing our carbon footprint. We reduced water and electrical usage. We even installed batteries to go off-grid at high-impact times in certain areas. From solar water heating to waste reduction projects in progress at all of our plants, we’ve made great strides in environmental stewardship.
The role of BeefUp
I believe, along with everyone at Cargill, that beef can be a force for good. It can address the urgency of climate change while nourishing our people and building an even more resilient world.
We created BeefUp with help from external experts and people throughout our business, finding practical and scalable ways to advance meaningful climate change solutions across the supply chain.
With BeefUp, we’re expanding sustainability across our entire beef supply chain. We’re focused on innovation, grazing management, feed production and food waste.
We can’t do it alone. With BeefUp, we’re collaborating, learning and sharing ideas with people across the supply chain and sustainability experts outside the beef industry. I firmly believe agriculture is how we’ll succeed, unlocking the potential of beef to benefit us all.