The WWF is suggesting a supply system that enables consumers to choose ‘greener’ products.

"Australian beef producers are stewards of our land and they have been producing sustainable beef in an environmentally friendly way for generations," Greg Brown, president of the Cattle Council of Australia, says.

"As an industry that produces around 2.2 million tonnes of beef and veal a year and the world’s second largest exporter of beef, we recognise the need to manage the land we own in a sustainable way.

"If the WWF is proposing a wider choice of beef for consumers without wanting to impose a rigid one-size-fits all categorization then we’d consider supporting it.

"We still need to see the detail of the proposal first before any endorsement is given."

Beef producers manage 43 per cent of Australia’s total landmass and Australia is one of the world’s most efficient producers of cattle.

The global population is estimated to reach 9 billion people in 2050 placing increasing pressure on agriculture world-wide.

"Our society is concerned about feeding the world’s population sustainably," Mr Brown said.

"We must increase awareness among consumers of the Australian beef industry’s value in producing quality food that utilises sustainable production systems managed by astute farmers."

But AgForce Cattle president Grant Maudsley took a harder line, saying comments by the World Wildlife Fund’s Nick Heath demonstrate a lack of knowledge and credibility about the environmental integrity already built into Queensland’s rangelands beef production systems.

Beef producers are world leaders in developing environmental, animal welfare and eating quality standards for their food products and do not need claims of leadership from non-farming extreme green groups, Mr Maudsley said.

"Nick Heath needs to catch up," Mr Maudsley says.

"AgForce won’t condone bad land managers, but Queensland beef producers already grow environmentally sustainable, natural food products and have been for many decades using ecosystem management practices that foster sustainability and biodiversity because – guess what – we want to be around producing food for many generations to come."