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We are committed to conducting the operations of Tyson Foods in a manner which respects and preserves the natural resources of the areas in which we live and work.

The people of Tyson Foods have always been fortunate to live and work in some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of our country. It's a privilege we don't take lightly, because we know it will take all of our efforts to keep tomorrow's world as beautiful as the one we enjoy today.

To this end, Tyson operates its facilities with the latest technology, while we work with other companies to develop and implement new environmental advances as they become available. Our breakthroughs in organic farming, residual product recycling, water purification, and energy conservation have set the standards in the poultry industry. We are committed to producing the high-quality food products America has come to depend upon, while we recognize our responsibility to be good corporate citizens in the communities in which we work, live, and play.

Organic Farming


When Tyson growers prepare their chicken houses for use, rice hulls and/or wood shavings are laid down as bedding material. Typical growers will clean out their houses once a year and use the organic material, which is still 60-70 percent bedding, as organic fertilizer.

To be sure this organic fertilizer is properly applied, Tyson engineers, working with government experts, developed the "Best Management Practices" as a guideline for the use of chicken litter. To maximize crop growth without harming the environment, the practices recommend a specific amount of this fertilizer per acre depending on the farmer's land area, soil type, crop to be grown, type of litter to be used, and nitrate/phosphate concentration per ton.

The guidelines are also used to determine how far from water supplies the fertilizer should be applied to retain the purity of ground and surface water. Both environmentally sound and inexpensive, chicken-litter fertilizer is a welcome alternative to chemical fertilizer, the only other acceptable option for higher crop yields.

Residual Products Recycling


The normal on-farm poultry mortality rate before harvest is approximately three percent. This means our typical grower must handle more than 16,000 pounds of dead chickens annually.

To keep these birds out of our environment, Tyson is experimenting with providing our growers freezers to freeze the birds until they can be picked up later. Freezing prevents bacteria growth and preserves protein value for when the birds are recycled in Tyson plants such as the River Valley Residual Products facility in Scranton, Arkansas.

At River Valley, dead birds make up only a small part of the nearly 30 million pounds of chicken and hog residual products a week, from farms and Tyson production facilities, that are recycled into feed-grade products for poultry feed, cattle feed, and pet food ingredients. With state-of-the-art facilities such as this, Tyson recycles what was once considered waste into useful products, while helping to preserve the environment at the same time.

Watching Our Water


Water purification, conservation, and efficient recycling are recurring themes in the Tyson world, where nearly $200 million in capital outlay has been spent in the last five years for wastewater treatment. Concern about the purity of our water is not new for Tyson. Many of our 52 pre-treatment and full-treatment plants were in place long before local governments began regulating water quality.

One example of this commitment is our plant in Temperanceville, Virginia, where there are few state regulations for reducing levels of nitrates, phosphorus, ammonia, and other components in wastewater. After treatment, our plant's wastewater is so pure it's used to refill the plant's aquarium, where fish echo the aquatic life which exists in Virginia's waters.

More than 23 million gallons of water a day are treated in Tyson's water treatment plants. It's this commitment from companies such as Tyson Foods that will assure future generations an ample supply of fresh, clean water.

Energy Conservation

 

Tyson Foods is continually looking for ways in which our operations can function more energy-efficiently.

Recently we signed an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to participate in EPA's Green Lights program to replace existing lighting with new energy-efficient lighting in Tyson-owned plants, feed, mills, hatcheries, and offices throughout the United States.

By participating in this program, Tyson is expected to save 85 million KWh of electricity per year, resulting in $4 million savings annually. This will prevent more than 57 thousand tons of carbon dioxide, 40 thousand pounds of nitrogen oxide, and 97 thousand pounds of sulfur dioxide from entering the environment each year. Translated to real terms, that's equivalent to planting more than 21 thousand acres of trees per year or removing more than 10 thousand cars a year from the road.

Energy conservation is a win-win process, benefiting not only the environment but also Tyson's bottom line.