Earls resumes serving Alberta beef

Restaurant chain became focus of social media backlash

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Some Earls restaurants in Alberta have resumed serving locally-raised beef after social media erupted when the restaurant chain announced it was going to begin sourcing beef from the United States.

“We have sourced enough beef for seven restaurants and have chosen seven locations across Alberta to have a consistent supply of Alberta beef that is raised without antibiotics, hormones or steroids and audited for humane treatment standards across each cycle,” the company said in its June 1 Beef Report.

The company noted the beef for the seven restaurants is being sourced from Aspen Ridge Farms.

“This is a positive message to Alberta cattle and beef producers and a good first step towards putting Canadian and Alberta beef back on their menus and in their words, making this right,” Alberta Beef Producers said in a release. “Now, we are hoping Earls will fulfill this commitment to building the supply of Canadian beef for their restaurants.”

Earls' decision comes about a month after the chain faced social media backlash on its announcement it would start sourcing "100% Certified Humane Beef" from Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, Kansas.

People inside and out of the agricultural community were upset over the decision, with many vowing to boycott the restaurant – and they did.

Richard Daley, a co-owner of an Earls in Lethbridge, along with his wife Maria, told CTV Calgary that they saw a 30 per cent drop in sales in the month of May during the boycott.

“We can’t sustain these losses forever,” they said.