Dive Brief:
- Tyson Foods has ended its contract with an Oklahoma farmer after a video surfaced of shocking levels of animal abuse.
- Tyson said it was terminating its business dealings with the farm immediately and said it "will not tolerate this kind of animal mishandling."
- The video, shown to Tyson management by reporters from NBC, shows worker beating, kicking and throwing pigs and smashing baby piglets into the ground.
Dive Insight:
If your instinct is to assume that the abuse depicted in the video isn't quite as horrific as animal-rights activists might suggest, we urge you to drop your guard and watch the video. And if your instinct is to think that this is a one-time problem at just one facility, consider that Tyson faced a similar scandal in May in Wyoming.
Something has gone terribly wrong with how meat is produced in this country. Consumers know it. And they want change. We're glad to see Tyson took action in this case quickly. But we suspect there will be another abuse scandal at another facility in a week or so. These things seem endless.
So while we wait for the next video, we'll go back to the bookshelf and re-read the most provocative book we know on this subject: Dominion, written by a conservative, religious Republican who looks at the food industry and sees ... sin.