This Meat Company Dumps More Pollution Into Waterways Each Year Than ExxonMobil

[KamaAina]

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/08/3747114/agribusiness-tyson-water-pollution/

Tyson Foods, one of the largest producers of meat in the world, is responsible for dumping more toxic pollution by volume into U.S. waters than companies like Exxon and Dow Chemical, according to a new analysis from environmental advocacy group Environment America.

The analysis, released last Wednesday, coincides with a decision by Tyson shareholders not to institute a new water policy that would have mandated the company keep better track of its water pollution both inside and outside of its direct facilities.

Water pollution from Tyson Foods comes from a variety of sources, from the fertilizer used by farmers to grow feed for animals to the manure produced by raising thousands of animals in factory farms. But those figures aren’t publicly available, as Tyson is only legally required to report pollution from its processing plants to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory. According to those reports, Tyson dumped 104 million pounds of pollutants into U.S. waterways between 2010 and 2014 — the second highest volume of toxic discharges reported by any company, and higher than the discharges of companies like US Steel Corp, Koch Industries, and ExxonMobil....

Much of the pollution from Tyson’s processing facilities — which includes animal waste and waste products — are nitrate compounds, which can have a detrimental effect on both environmental and public health. In high concentrations, nitrates in drinking water can hinder a body’s ability to carry enough oxygen to cells, causing potentially severe health problems for infants and people with compromised immune systems. In the environment, nitrates can lead to algal blooms and dead zones that deprive marine ecosystems of oxygen needed to sustain aquatic life.

[villager]

1. Yet "progressives" here will keep arguing about their meat only being pried from their cold, dead

...hands, so to speak.

Have never understood the disconnect in unquestioned support of one of the most odious, eco-destructive large industries on the planet...

[KamaAina]

2. Not all meat is factory-farmed.

Come to the Bay Area and feast on free-range, locally-sourced practically everything.

[villager]

3. Of course not. And as a Bay Area-raised ex-pat (who still gets back a lot!) I know! ;-)

But, it's still surprising how little questioning there is of relentless, unchecked meat consumption around these here "progressive" parts...!

[Wilms]

4. Hillary Clinton Turned $1,000 (Tyson Investment) Into $99,540, White House Says

WASHINGTON, March 29— The White House said today that in 1978 Hillary Rodham Clinton invested $1,000 in commodities futures and that the investment grew in 10 months of trading in the notoriously volatile market into a gain of nearly $100,000.

snip

During Mr. Clinton's tenure as Governor, Tyson benefited from several state decisions, including favorable environmental rulings, $9 million in state loans, and the placement of company executives on important state boards.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/30/us/hillary-clinton-turned-1000-into-99540-white-house-says.html?

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. ..