‘They rake in profits – everyone else suffers’: US workers lose out as big chicken gets bigger

The tight grip that America’s largest meat processing company has on the chicken industry has generated dire consequences for its workers, farmers and the environment in one of the US’s leading poultry-producing states, an investigation has found.

Tyson Foods is ranked 73rd on the Fortune 500 list, with a revenue of $43bn in the last fiscal year.

Tyson accounts for the single largest share of chicken plants across the US, processing 2.3 billion birds in 2020. The company supplies burgers and nuggets, among other chicken products, to chains including Walmart, McDonalds, KFC and Taco Bell, as well as schools and prisons.

In Arkansas, where the multinational is headquartered, the company currently accounts for an estimated two-thirds of processed poultry sales, a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) reveals.