{"id":22187,"date":"2017-11-14T08:53:21","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T13:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/tyson-foods-can-one-of-the-worlds-largest-food-companies-break-a-destructive-cycle\/"},"modified":"2017-11-14T08:53:21","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T13:53:21","slug":"tyson-foods-can-one-of-the-worlds-largest-food-companies-break-a-destructive-cycle","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/tyson-foods-can-one-of-the-worlds-largest-food-companies-break-a-destructive-cycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyson Foods: Can One of the World’s Largest Food Companies Break a Destructive Cycle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyson Foods is the largest producer of meats in the United States [1], and one of the largest in the world, with $37 billion in sales in 2016. Tyson produces one in five pounds of chicken, beef, and pork in the U.S., and processes approximately 35 million chickens, 125 thousand cows, and 415 thousand pigs per week. In 2016, 3,659 farmers raised chickens for Tyson, 3,764 feeders and ranchers sold them cattle, and 1,975 farmers sold them pigs [2][3]. Tyson\u2019s supply chain is tremendously large and complex, and is currently exposed to significant risk due to the potential effects of climate change.<\/p>\n

Emissions levels of environmentally harmful greenhouse gases (\u201cGHG\u201d) \u2013 namely carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide \u2013 are under extreme scrutiny across the globe. The livestock sector is one of the primary culprits; GHG emissions associated with livestock supply chains (e.g., manure, digestion processes, and feedstock production) contribute 14.5% of human-caused GHG releases, trailing only the energy sector [4]. One of the many side effects of a warming planet is an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather, including droughts. Climate change increases the odds of worsening droughts in many parts of the U.S. due to drier soil [5] as well as extended recovery times when droughts do occur [6].<\/p>\n

These dynamics create a challenging environment for Tyson: they are a leading contributor to GHG emissions and climate change, yet face significant financial and operational pressures from its effects. They must find efficient ways to provide sufficient food and water for livestock while also complying with costly emissions initiatives. Extreme weather and drought could lead to increased volatility in the global supply and price of commodities like maize and wheat, both critical inputs for feeding livestock. The 2012 U.S. drought, as an example, carried an associated cost of approximately $30 billion and produced a scarcity of corn that led to increases in global food prices by as much as 10%[7][8]. Global agriculture is also the world\u2019s largest consumer of fresh water, a scarce resource with increasing competition for access. Rising temperatures may increase animal water consumption by a factor of two to three, and create the need to produce crops and create livestock systems that demand less water or are geographically better situated for cost-efficient access. [9]<\/p>\n

Tyson faces potentially significant, sustained increases in costs due to greater use and scarcity of water and increased pressure on its supply chain, as well as the risk of short-term pricing volatility due to unpredictable weather and severe climatic events. The company has taken several actions to get ahead of these issues:<\/p>\n