About the Tyson Case in Last Week's News

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 22:08:47 PM PST

Terry was a poultry farmer who brought together a group of area farmers and told them they had the right to complain about Tyson's practices. He also raised concerns directly with Tyson, among the world's largest meat companies.

Terry's story is one we should pay attention to. In the broiler industry, the farms are owned by farmers who contract with integrators, large companies like Tyson. The integrators provide the chicks, feed, and meds, and they make the rules about how the farmer raises the chickens and often require the farmers to make costly equipment upgrades in order to renew their contracts. The farmers, for their part, own the buildings, the equipment, and the dead birds and manure. They've got all of the debt and liability, while the integrator has the control. The farmers are paid for the amount of weight the chickens gain while in their custody.

380,000 Pounds of (Mostly Eaten) Meat Recalled From WalMart

by: JayinPortland

Tue Aug 24, 2010 at 14:17:12 PM PDT

"It's believed most of the affected products have already been consumed," [Gary Mickelson, spokesman for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson] said. The sandwiches have been removed from store shelves nonetheless.

It wasn't immediately clear how many stores sold the meat products. A spokeswoman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, could not say where it was sold.

Listeria monocytogenes was detected in a product sample from Georgia.

I thought these people tracked anything and everything, down to the nano-molecule?  But when it comes to tracking who's eaten their potentially poisoned sandwiches, or where they were even sold, it's "I dunno"?

Anyways, if you've eaten one of these (list at the link) sandwiches from WalMart recently, give it back somehow.  They've been recalled...

Tyson Doesn't Want You To Test Its Meat For Pathogens

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 15:03:06 PM PDT

But Tyson didn't think it was a really good idea at all. They in fact DECLINED TO SELL MEAT to Costco on the grounds that Costco tested all of its meat upon arrival at the plant. Tyson has since changed its stance, now agreeing to sell to Costco and allowing Costco to test their meat. But you know what? I'm still quite disgusted at Tyson.

How To Tell the Economy Sucks Sign #1: People Are Fighting to Work in Poultry Plants

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 16:35:41 PM PST

Nice Work if You Can Get It

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Feb 04, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PST

Tyson is one of the top four largest firms in each beef, pork, and chicken. You've gotta wonder about the size of their carbon footprint... we'd probably make a huge dent in solving global warming if we were able to just snap our fingers and make Tyson disappear. But instead, they're around - and they're making enough money to give their departing execs millions of dollars plus a Mercedes to boot. I wonder if people like that realize that the rest of us have to worry about whether or not we can afford COBRA when we leave a job?

Apparently Bond fell out of favor with the Tyson family because he was unwilling to cut chicken production. Tyson just reported a fiscal first quarter $112 million loss. Amazing that they think Bond's advice is worth $9.2 million... unless they plan to listen to what he says and then do the opposite

Tyson Worker Dies, Tyson Pays Up

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jan 07, 2009 at 08:44:55 AM PST

A statement from prosecutors said Tyson safety personnel and management were aware at the time that the gas was present at the facility and that Tyson did not take enough steps to reduce exposure within prescribed limits. The company also failed to have controls or protective equipment and did not provide effective training, the government said.

Prosecutors said an identical exposure injured a worker at the facility in March 2002.

Tyson has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine. I'm thrilled that they are paying a large fine (and sadly, I believe this IS large in the scheme of things - particularly during the Bush administration - even though I'd argue that the fine should be several times larger). But is this the value of a human life? Half a million dollars? Probably not to Kelley's family. Having recently lost a loved one myself, I can tell you that no amount of money would be equal to the value of having my brother back with me. And furthermore, is the fine enough to discourage Tyson from doing this again?

I know we've been focused almost exclusively on Tom Vilsack and the USDA, but let's hope that Obama's choice for Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis, can really fix up the working conditions in our food system.

Mexico Stops Importing U.S. Meat

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 29, 2008 at 16:00:00 PM PST

Mexico Suspends U.S. Meat Imports

Mexico has suspended meat imports from 30 processing plants in 14 states, including Smithfield Packing Inc., which is based in North Carolina.

The news was released on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site.

Smithfield is the world's largest pork slaughterhouse.

According to the Associated Press, other companies that will be affected by this move are Tyson Foods, Inc., Cargill Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., and Swift Foods Inc.

The ban could greatly affect Tyson because high feed prices have already strained its profits and Mexico represented 23 percent of its international sales in 2008.

Authorities believe the suspensions may be in retaliation for the U.S. putting a country-of-origin labeling law into effect earlier this year in response to concerns the safety of imports.

The country-of-origin labeling law mandates the separation of foreign cattle and pigs in U.S. feedlots and packing plants.  Foreign animals are also now required to have more documentation about where they come from and have tags that indicate they are free of mad cow disease.

Tyson Thinks You Are Shit All Stupid

by: webranding

Tue Nov 25, 2008 at 06:34:59 AM PST

Of course Tyson Foods is the second largest chicken producer in the United States. They openly admit engaging in this practice. In response, the USDA told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label. The company has sued over its right to keep using it.  

Tyson Plays Chicken

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 06:00:00 AM PST

Tyson may be able to sell chicken at less than it costs to produce it - they are also in the beef and pork businesses and they can profit there to stay solvent overall. Pilgrim's Pride only sells chicken - if they are forced to sell chicken at less than it costs to produce it, that's gonna hurt.

If this is truly the case and Philpott is right about Tyson's intent, this might lead to even MORE consolidation in the already-consolidated chicken industry (the largest 4 companies control 58.5% of the market). That's bad.

In another equally disturbing article about Tyson, Philpott reports on a recent interview with Don Tyson. In the interview, Tyson shares plans to expand operations overseas in India, China, and Brazil. Great, so our appetite for cheap chicken can pollute the rest of the world too.

Battle of the Corporate Front Groups

by: OrangeClouds115

Fri Jul 25, 2008 at 08:00:00 AM PDT

Oh boy, how can I ever pick a side? It's like being asked to choose between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Osama bin Ladin. I don't like either.