Critic of Tyson Foods’ Practices Isn’t Credible

The Times gave front-page coverage to a former Tyson Foods employee who makes completely unsubstantiated claims about our treatment of animals (“A Killing Floor Chronicle,” Dec. 8). As your extensive correction of Dec. 13 makes clear, the former employee repeatedly lied about the most basic facts of his life, claiming to have served in military combat and to have murdered a man, neither of which is true. Your correction should give pause to any who are tempted to believe the baseless allegations of radical animal activists.

We at Tyson Foods are proud of our efforts to provide Americans with food that is safer and more affordable than ever before. The vast majority of Americans choose to eat meat. Unable to convince Americans to radically alter their diets, certain animal rights groups instead choose to attack those of us who work in animal agriculture. The simple truth is that it is not possible to produce meat products without killing livestock. That should surprise no one.

We and others in our industry work hard to ensure that all reasonable efforts are made to do our work as humanely as possible. Our facilities are regularly audited by teams of outside animal welfare experts, and we work with the most noted academics in the field to ensure that we utilize the most advanced techniques available. In addition, we have established an office of animal well-being responsible for ensuring that best practices in animal handling are followed at all of our locations.

Ed Nicholson

Director of Media and Community Relations, Tyson Foods

Springdale, Ark.