Earls restaurants have resumed serving Alberta beef in Canada, after the chain backtracked on a decision to exclusively use ethically raised meat from the United States.

The restaurant has been serving U.S.-raised beef for the last month or so, but seven of the 25 Earls locations in Alberta are slated to resume using Canadian beef, effective immediately.

"We brought it back obviously because it's important to Albertans," Andrew Patridge, general manager at Earls, told CTV Calgary. He also thanked customers for voicing their opinions.

Earls faced public outcry and boycotts in Alberta last month after it announced it would start using U.S.-raised beef, because it was having difficulty finding enough hormone-free, ethically-treated beef in Canada. Many Alberta beef farmers stepped forward with offers to meet Earls' supply needs, while others refused to visit the restaurant until it returned to using locally sourced products.

"People have voted with their feet," said Richard Daley, co-owner of the Earls in Lethbridge. "They've bought into the boycott and they boycotted us."

Daley and his wife, Maria, said they saw a 30 per cent decline in their sales in May due to the boycott. "We can't sustain these losses forever," Maria Daley told CTV Calgary.

Earls said in a statement on the company's website that it has found enough locally raised beef to supply seven restaurants, using meat from Aspen Ridge Farms. Those restaurants are:

Medicine Hat - 3215 Dunmore Road SE, Medicine Hat

Lethbridge - 203 13th Street South, Lethbridge

South Commons - 1505 99th Street, Edmonton

170th - 9961 170th Street, Edmonton

Calgary Tin Palace - 2401 4th Street SW, Calgary

Barlow - 3030 23 Street NE, Calgary

Shepard - 5155 130th Avenue SE Unit 200, Calgary

Earls is also selling its Alberta steaks at a $5 discount, making it $20 for a seven-ounce sirloin steak.

Earls' return to using local beef comes on the heels of an industry meeting involving Alberta beef producers. Fawn Jackson, a spokesperson for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, said Alberta producers want to address the public's desire for sustainable, ethically treated products.

"We know that consumers are very interested about where their food products come from today, and that it's being done so in a responsible manner," Jackson said.

With files from CTV Calgary