Two young leaders in the Canadian cattle sector have been chosen to represent the North American region on the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL) Youth Advisory Group. The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) congratulates Evan Chaffe (Ontario) and Sydney Fortier (Alberta) on this prestigious appointment as they fill the two spots available for the North American region. CCA wishes them the best as they represent Canada, and the broader Norther American livestock sector, in their new role.
The Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL)
GASL is a partnership of livestock sector stakeholders such as the public and private sectors, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia and research committed to the sustainable development of the sector. It builds consensus towards sustainability by working with stakeholders through dialogues, consultations, and joint analysis.
Purpose of Youth Advisory Group (YAG)
The Youth Advisory Group will act as a future-focused collective voice representing youth on matters of relevance to GASL and contributing different points of view. It will reflect and provide input from a diverse range of youth voices focusing on collective learning and enhancement of sustainable practices and policies for the livestock sector. Members will serve two-year terms.
Applicants were required to have at least three years experience related to the sustainable livestock sector and had to demonstrate their engagement with the livestock sector with an emphasis on sustainability. CCA is proud to have Evan and Sydney serving as global leaders who can witness to the sustainability of Canadian beef and work with other groups on shared sustainability goals.
Evan Chaffe
Evan graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Commerce in Food and Agriculture Business and is a recent Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) graduate from the Rural Ontario Institute. Evan grew up on a beef and cash crop farm in Mitchell, Ontario, and is a past Ontario representative to the Canadian Cattle Youth Council. Since 2020, Evan has served as a Policy Advisor with Beef Farmers of Ontario and previously spent time in roles with Farm Credit Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Sydney Fortier
Sydney Fortier has been with the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) for the past two years and served as Public and Stakeholder Engagement Technical Advisor prior to joining BCRC. Sydney assists with the review of scientific reports and gathering of relevant research-based information for various audiences. She helps coordinate the development, maintenance, and utilization of various extension resources, including the BCRC’s webinars, fact sheets and other content on www.BeefResearch.ca. Sydney also coordinates the BCRC’s Beef Researcher Mentorship Program. Sydney is also a masters student through the University of Manitoba supervised by Drs Kim Ominski and Tim McAllister modelling the environmental impacts of raising beef cattle with and without growth enhancing technologies.