Guilt-free Steak with Five Founders Carbon Neutral Certified Beef

Do you ever feel a tinge of guilt indulging in a steak? These days it's not so much cardiovascular disease we are concerned about but climate change. Beef and dairy production generates more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than all the world’s cars, threatening long-term climate targets. Cattle are responsible for 9% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, or 4.7 gigatonnes a year (source: FAO).

I was pleasantly curious when Australia’s First Carbon Neutral Certified Beef by Five Founders launched here in Singapore. How do you get beef to be carbon neutral?

The carbon neutrality is certified by the Australian government to entities meeting rigorous criteria and achieving zero net greenhouse gas emission.

Five Founders engaged Earnst & Young to independently evaluate its chain-of-production carbon footprint (livestock farming, operations, production and transportation). They reduced carbon emissions as much as possible and also purchased Australian Government-approved carbon credits to offset remaining emissions, leading to net zero emissions. Ah, credits. So handy.

They do spearhead sustainable beef farming and agricultural initiatives like ensuring full traceability within the supply chain, forest-friendly grazing (no trees are cut for pastures), securing protected land for nature refuge and conservation, and participating in industry carbon sequestration trials, like testing legume-based pastures for cattle feed to lower methane emissions. Nice.



The Five Founders carbon neutral beef is brought in by Alternative Selection, Singapore’s first wholesaler and retailer of alternative gourmet, organic, allergen, and preservative-free specialty foods.

So it's no surprise it's got no added hormones. The cattle roam free on the grasslands of the northern Australian outback, but are grain finished for 100 days. The entire carcass is used, and nothing goes to waste.

They've sent me some samples to try.




These two slices of ribeye (300g) don't need much time in the pan. Bit of salt and pepper, and you have a guilt-free tasty steak to enjoy at home.



Sorry I didn't do any fancy food styling. I had hungry people and we didn't want to eat this steak cold! The meat tasted pretty mild; it was not too gamey and had a pleasant balance of lean and fatty content.

I loved learning about sustainable practices and knowing that we have choices that can reduce our impact on the environment. Five Founders beef is available on RedMart and Ryan's Grocery. It's also served in restaurants like Cheek Bistro, Kitchen by Food Rebel, La Strada, Lino, Outback Steakhouse, SaLe Marino, Tatsu Sushi, Tatsu Teppanyaki, The Market Grill and VENUE by Sebastian.