Has Tyson really turned it around this fast?

 

Top headline:  Investigate Midwest

Illustration:  The Guardian

Bottom headline:  WATT Poultry

Eric Schmid reports for St. Louis Public Radio via Investigate Midwest:

Meat processing company Tyson Foods released at least 371.7 million pounds of pollution into U.S. waterways between 2018 and 2022, according to a report released this week from the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

It’s the first time Tyson’s individual impact on the environment has been examined in this way, said Omanjana Goswami, one of the study’s authors. She said one of the goals of this study was to help consumers understand how major food companies with deep market penetration affect the environment. 

“Companies like Tyson Foods have a massive hold on our farming system,” she said. “If you’ve bought chicken at the supermarket or if you’ve eaten nuggets at McDonalds, you’ve most likely been a consumer of Tyson Foods. It’s really hard to avoid.” 

The analysis examines publicly available data on discharges from Tyson’s plants that have a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Goswami said. It identifies 30 pollutants released including chloride, nitrogen, phosphorus and a handful of other metals. 

“There’s a long laundry list of pollutants that Tyson releases every year, Goswani said.”  [emphasis added]

 Apparently, neither the Union of Concerned Scientists nor the works at the Dakota City, Nebraska, plant shown in the above aerial view had a say about Tyson's award.

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