Tyson Foods dumped millions of pounds of toxic pollutants directly into American rivers and lakes over the last five years, threatening critical ecosystems, endangering wildlife and human health, a new investigation reveals.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, chloride, oil and cyanide were among the 371m lb of pollutants released into waterways by just 41 Tyson slaughterhouses and mega processing plants between 2018 and 2022.

According to research by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the contaminants were dispersed in 87bn gallons of wastewater – which also contains blood, bacteria and animal feces – and released directly into streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands relied on for drinking water, fishing and recreation. The UCS analysis, shared exclusively with the Guardian, is based on the most recent publicly available water pollution data Tyson is required to report under current regulations.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240430115519/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/30/tyson-foods-toxic-pollutants-lakes-rivers

  • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    You don’t have to give Tyson food your money. I don’t.

    Eating meat is not only abhorrent morally, its also abhorrent environmentally.

      • AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works
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        6 months ago

        That’s probably overwhelmingly animal feed. I’m from a farming family, and you would be surprised at how much of that ocean of corn is feed corn.

        Unfortunately Raised and Rooted plant ‘meat’ is owned by Tyson. So vegetarians have to avoid Tyson too.

      • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        Still way better than eating meat. Never let perfection be the enemy of good and purity tests are only for the infantile mind.

        The world is a mess. Do better.

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          purity tests are only for the infantile mind.

          Eating meat is not only abhorrent morally

          So which version of your self-aggrandizing babble do we go by? Or are you trying to say that you have an infantile mind yourself?

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          The topic is Tyson Foods. You claimed that you don’t give them your money. If you live in the US, unless you live exclusively off of your own garden, I’m saying that’s unlikely.

        • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          I don’t know man. You moved that goal post so fast you might have scored a point on yourself.