Meat + Poultry - June 2017 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES

TYSON TRANSITIONING TO
'NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER'

10

MEAT+ POULTRY | 06.17 | www.meatpoultry.com

(USMEF) said Perdue's track
record as governor and his recent
testimony before the Senate "...leave
no doubt that he understands the
important role of international trade
in enhancing the profitability of US
livestock producers and the entire US
supply chain."

SENATE CONFIRMS PERDUE AS
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY

SMITHFIELD RELEASES 2016
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

The US Senate confirmed former Georgia
Gov. Sonny Perdue as the 31st Secretary
of the US Dept. of Agriculture on April
24. Perdue's confirmation received
bipartisan support on a vote of 87-11.
Stakeholders in the meat and
poultry industry applauded Perdue's
confirmation.
"We welcome today's confirmation
of Sonny Perdue as the next secretary of
agriculture," Barry Carpenter, president
and CEO of the North American Meat
Institute, said in a statement. "His
experience as
a farmer and
veterinarian
will be valuable
in his new role
as he works
on behalf of
US agriculture,
a critically
important
sector of the US
Sonny Perdue
economy and
responsible for
feeding Americans and people around
the world."
Born into a farming family in
Bonaire, Georgia, Perdue, 70, brings
decades of experience in agriculture
and agribusiness to the USDA. He has
worked as a farmer and a veterinarian.
He also served as a state legislator
before becoming the first Republican
governor of Georgia in more than 135
years. Since leaving office, Perdue has
owned and operated several agriculturerelated businesses.
Philip Seng, president and CEO
of the US Meat Export Federation

Smithfield Foods Inc. released its
2016 Sustainability Report in weekly
segments during the month of May.
The first section of the sustainability
report contained information about
Smithfield's position regarding animal
care. According to Smithfield, the
company is the first to commit to
group housing of pregnant sows on

company owned farms worldwide;
the only producer to report its
usage of antibiotics; and the first
pork producer to design and put
into practice a systematic and
comprehensive welfare management
program for its animals.
The report also includes animal
care research case studies, a glossary
of animal care industry terms and the
results of internal animal care audits,
among other information.
Smithfield has organized the
segments of its sustainability
report according to the pillars of its
comprehensive program. The goal
behind the segmented release is
better engagement of stakeholders
by delivering information with
greater accessibility. The company
published the Environment,
Food Safety and Quality, Helping
Communities and People segments
in succession throughout the month
of May.
 To entire Animal Care section of
the report is available online at:
www.smithfieldfoods.com/animalcare.

USDA

Tyson Foods Inc. announced in
early May the company's entire line
of retail chicken products will be
sourced from birds raised with no
antibiotics ever (NAE), making Tyson
a leading provider of chickens raised
with no antibiotics.
Tyson President
and CEO Tom Hayes
said earlier this year
that the company
would continue to
innovate in product development while
remaining focused on sustainable
production practices. "For us,
sustainability isn't a single issue; it's
about focusing on multiple dimensions
in order to advance the whole,"
Hayes said during the 2017 Consumer
Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY)
Conference in Boca Raton, Florida.
The company's sustainability
plans include establishing strategic
partnerships to set science-based
sustainability goals; continuing
third-party audits of farms to certify
humane treatment of chickens;
improving how chickens are raised
through a concept farm, with
innovations designed to be better for
the birds, the environment and food
safety; and increasing transparency
across the business, including
sustainability efforts.
On the transparency front, the
company partnered with documentary
film maker Daniel Junge to film a
video series featuring behind-thescenes footage of how Tyson makes
chicken nuggets. Junge met with
chicken farmers and their families,
plant workers, chefs and animal
welfare experts, veterinarians,
hatchery managers and others to
provide viewers an inside look at
Tyson products, practices and more.
Junge also interviewed Tyson Foods
Chairman John Tyson.
"The videos and our No Antibiotics
Ever commitment represent a big step
for the Tyson brand in our efforts to

act sustainably and transparently,"
said Duke Zandstra, senior marketing
director for the Tyson brand. "Our goal
is to show what good can come when a
food company the size and scale of ours
opens its doors and invites people in."
The videos will be available
at www.tyson.com/our-practices.
http://www.tyson.com/our-practices http://www.smithfieldfoods.com/animalcare http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat + Poultry - June 2017

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