Tyson to Pay $2M for Pollution That Killed 100,000 Fish

Compassion Over Killing’s groundbreaking investigation of Tyson Foods broiler breeder factories revealed egregious animal abuse, and drove unprecedented charges and convictions for cruelty to chickens.

And Tyson, the nation’s largest chicken producer, is also taking a devastating toll on the planet. A recent report named the company the leading polluter of the Gulf of Mexico.

When Tyson planned to construct a massive $320 million chicken processing plant in Tonganoxie, Kansas, thousands of residents protested the facility, citing concerns over environmental impacts, animal welfare, and more (and Tyson backed down!).

Now, Tyson Poultry is set to pay a $2 million fine for water pollution in 2014 that killed over 100,000 fish, after pleading guilty to criminal charges in US District Court for two counts of violating the Clean Water Act. According to Reuters, the company will also serve two years of probation and pay $500,000 toward cleaning of the local waters.

An investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was centered on “highly acidic” waste-water, containing waste from animal feed supplements, released from Tyson’s Monett, Missouri processing plant that ended up in the city’s water treatment system — and into a creek, where the over 100,000 fish were killed.

Animal agriculture is a leading cause of environmental degradation, including water pollution and ocean dead zones.

But you can stand up for the planet every time you sit down to eat. Visit TryVeg.com for vegan recipes and so much more.

Because the best way we can protect fish is to leave them off your dish!