The country's two largest meat companies and the New Zealand Veterinary Association support such a scheme and, recently, one of our biggest beef-buying customers, McDonald's Restaurants, added its support for a national system, stressing that a solution was needed sooner rather than later.
Federated Farmers has been leading a campaign opposed to the national animal identification and traceability scheme (Nait) and this week said its resolve was strengthening even though its stance appeared counter to the requirements of exporters and McDonald's.
McDonald's purchasing manager Arron Hoyle told about 100 farmers at a Southern South Island sheep and beef council beef field day at Millers Flat late last month that a traceability scheme needed to be mandatory and national.
Traceability was as much about insurance and creating a trusted brand for consumers as it was a practical process should there be a biosecurity outbreak.
"We know our customers are saying they want transparency," Mr Hoyle said.
Consumers expected the food they bought to be safe and disease-free and that required trust which in turn needed transparency.
Mr Hoyle said like McDonald's restaurants, New Zealand farmers had a brand they needed to protect.
"In McDonald's the trust is in the brand. It's a given the burger is safe," he said.
For New Zealand farmers a national traceability scheme would act like a firewall for their customers. Mr Hoyle said the current Animal Health Board traceability system had limitations.
Should there be a biosecurity outbreak, McDonald's would only be able recall a week's production which logistically would be very difficult and costly.
In comparison, if there was a chicken food scare, a producer could trace and cull their birds and be back in full production within 12 weeks.
Ideally, the fast food chain would like recorded an animal's place of birth, date of birth (to the month) and its final location before being shipped to a meat works.
McDonald's supported the stance taken by Meat and Wool New Zealand in instigating a Nait scheme, but Mr Hoyle believed the subsequent debate had confused people.
Alliance Group beef marketing manager Carl Alsweiler said Brazil served as a warning to what could happen to New Zealand.
Brazil lost its favourable beef access to the European Union because an audit found its traceability system did not stand up to scrutiny.
He said pressure was being exerted by consumers for traceability and, ideally, companies wanted to be able to trace each carton back to a specific farmer and to the 30 minutes to one hour when an animal was processed.
"There is pressure coming on in terms of traceability."
Traceability was a case of keeping ahead of the game rather than playing catch-up, he said.