Largest US Meat Producer to Cut Chicken-Slaughter Capacity by 10% As Sales Fall

Tyson Foods will shut four chicken production facilities in the US, as the company adapts to a slowing demand for some of its meat products.

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Credit: We Animals Media

The biggest meat producer in the US has announced the closure of four chicken production facilities, as the company adapts to a slowing demand for some of its meat products. 

Tyson Foods, which produces 1 in 5 pounds of all chicken, beef, and pork in the US, says that the four facilities represent an estimated 10 percent of the company’s overall chicken-slaughter capacity, reports Reuters.

The latest closures come as the company adapts to a challenging marketplace for meat producers, which has resulted in net quarterly sales for Tyson Foods falling 3 percent for the quarter ending July. Shares in the company also recently fell nearly 10 percent last month. 

“This is the first time I've seen chicken, beef and pork all challenged at the same time,” Donnie D. King, Tyson Foods’ president and chief executive officer, told an industry conference earlier this year. 

Credit: We Animals Media

There are various factors which may have contributed to these challenges to the meat sector, including an adjustment from high meat prices and profits which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as changing consumer habits and rising production costs.

There is also reduced demand for some of Tyson’s meat products, and industry analysts say more Americans are also choosing lower-cost protein alternatives, or lowering their intake of meat.  

What We Eat Matters

The world’s meat consumption is having a devastating impact on animals and the planet. Many studies have shown that animal farming and meat production is a key cause for many environmental issues, including climate change and biodiversity loss. 

A global shift towards a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change, according to the United Nations, and research from the University of Oxford shows that going vegan is the “single biggest way” to reduce your impact on the planet. 

“Cutting down the amount of meat and dairy in your diet can make a big difference to your dietary footprint,” explains Professor Scarborough, who recently led a University of Oxford study into the environmental impact of over 55,000 people’s individual diets, and found that vegan diets cause 75 percent less carbon emissions than meat diets. 

Research like this is leading wildlife experts and climate change campaigners - from Greta Thunberg to David Attenborough - to urge us all to reconsider our habits and diets to help lessen the impact of climate change.

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