Lethbridge College hosted the 21st annual Tiffin Conference in Lethbridge on Thursday.
The event is aimed at discussing current issues and trends in the red meat industry.
More than 350 industry producers, students and experts were on hand to talk about a variety of topics in the agriculture and beef sectors, like family farm succession planning and the Canadian economics of beef production.
“We really focused on bringing in diverse speakers. We didn’t want to have a common theme where everything was the same,” said Megan Shapka, manager of innovation and entrepreneurship with Lethbridge College.
One major topic of discussion at this year’s Tiffin Conference: the jump in plant-based proteins.
“We know the beef industry, as all protein industries, have competed with each other forever and I think one of the distinctions that happens with the plant-based protein is how some of the organizations compare their product to beef versus others,” said Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, senior manager of sustainability and agriculture with McDonald’s Canada.
“The chicken farmers aren’t next door saying, ‘Do the right thing today — come eat a chicken burger instead of a beef burger.'”
Organizers said the conference is an opportunity to bring like-minded industry people together with the same goal, improving and growing the agriculture industry.
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