100: Tyson’s Destructive Ways: A Simple Farm Turned Evil Empire | Dark History with Bailey Sarian
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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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Chicken is by far America's favorite meat. I mean, we eat 8 billion of them every year. We just can't get enough. But what if I told you the chicken we eat is pumped with hormones to make these birds so big and fat that they can't even walk?

Not only that, but the facilities they're kept in are contaminated with all kinds of nasty bugs that sometimes find their way into your precious chicken nuggets. I know. Gasp. Gasp. Oh, and the most shocking thing? Chicken poop? It's destroying the environment. Yeah, chicken poop. Who knew? ♪

Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Here we believe history does not have to be boring. I mean, it might be tragic, it might be happy, but either way, it's our dark history. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let's talk about that hot, juicy history gas. Yeah.

Listen, lately I've been trying to be better about grocery shopping and like actually checking to see where is my food coming from? Especially when it comes to like proteins. You guys won't shut up about protein, so I'm like trying to eat more of it. Okay, when I want. Anyways, but I used to just like grab whatever was on sale. I mean, if it's expired a day or two, it's okay. Discount. 'Cause like who could tell what's going on under all that plastic and styrofoam anyway, right?

Joan knows. Look at her. She's my lunch today, okay? I'm getting rid of her. Anyway, so when I started to like buy the better, pricier meats, you know, I could unfortunately

Taste the difference. I mean, I can actually taste that the cow had a less stressful life just based on like the meat. I didn't know. But here's the thing. I mean, that costs a lot of money, like triple the cost of that styrofoam plastic wrap meat. So yeah, I went back to my cold cuts real quick and I told myself it was okay because all the packages say nice things on it, like free range, cage free.

But then again, you never see eggs that say like, "This chicken lived in a cage and was force fed shit." I think that would actually be a better notice. Then I would know not to buy that. So, I mean, it got me thinking like, what is really going on here? If there's no cage,

Why do I taste the stress? Well, all of these brands I was looking up, doing some Googling and goggling, chicken, sausage, cake, steak, they all seem to be owned by one company. Hmm, that company you ask? Tyson.

We're looking at you, Tyson. Now I know what you guys are thinking. You're like, "Bailey, those guys, don't they only make chicken?" Well, correct. I mean, you're not wrong. Their bread and butter is chicken, but Tyson Foods today is the world's second largest processor of chicken, beef, and pork. I know that blew my mind 'cause I was like, "They just do chicken, right?" And this is amazing for Tyson because America is the number one consumer of chicken around the world.

Number one, number one. You did it. Fuck yeah. As Americans, we eat 15,000 metric tons of chicken every year. I mean, it makes up almost half of what Americans eat. And one in every five chickens we eat is from Tyson Foods. Tyson is one of four companies that control 85% of the meat market. And to the people who are like, I buy store brand meats, only I don't buy Tyson.

I hear you, I see you, but I've got some bad news for you. I'm so sorry. Tyson is such a mega corporation that they hide in like plain sight behind brands and other labels that they've acquired. Chances are, I mean, even if you think you're avoiding Tyson, most likely, like they're probably in your kitchen right now.

and are affecting you without you even knowing. The story of Tyson food begins with a man named John W. Tyson. So this man, John, he was born on a small farm in Lake Missouri in 1905. And when he was a kid, he always had some kind of business going on, whether it was like selling eggs or butter or slaughtering chickens. You know, he was just, he...

He was a hard worker. And then when he got older, John made a living selling and delivering products like hay and fruit. But at this point, there was more pressure on him to bring home the bacon. 'Cause now he had a wife and a baby to take care of. Plus during this time, it was the Great Depression. And because of that, like John wasn't getting as many jobs as he used to. So he decided to look for better opportunities for his family and leave his little hometown.

And in 1931, John packed his beat up truck. He got on the road with his wife and his baby boy. And honestly, just a couple of cents in his pocket. At this point in America, the produce industry was struggling. I mean, there were too many farmers. There was too much food that was being made. So the prices just kept getting marked down further and further. And this meant it was hard to make a profit if you were a farmer or someone like John who worked

with produce. So he wasn't the only one looking to make a career move. And then one day, everything changed. John was driving his truck through this small town by the Ozark Mountains called Springdale. I know, sounds cute. And then his truck, I guess, like ran out of gas. Bummer. Now, I don't know if he didn't have any money for gas to keep going or maybe just really

liked the town. But either way, John and his wife Mildred ended up deciding to stay in Springdale. And it would be in Springdale that John would turn his attention to chicken. So back then, the only way to get chicken meat to big cities was to buy them from local sellers in the country called growers. Not showers. These growers would raise the chickens in their small town, then sell the chickens to a middleman. And the

And the middleman would drive the chickens directly to restaurants or even like individual buyers, if you're fancy. Now, during this journey, these chickens could be alive or already slaughtered dead and ready for cooking. It really just depended on the buyer. So John became one of these middlemen getting these chickens from point A to point B. Ooh, he was like a chicken chauffeur. I like that.

And plus on top of that, John just liked the work. It was a steady job and he was making more money than ever before. Now for years, John would get chickens from the growers, put them in the back of his truck and then drive them to places like Kansas City and St. Louis. And by 1935, John realized he could be

He could be making even more money if he didn't have to rely on the growers for work, you know? He could be making double and even triple if he just started raising and selling chickens on his own. Smart John. But John knew if he was going to be competing with other chicken farmers, he would have to do things a little differently to stand out. And he had just the idea.

He had realized that the current system, it wasn't really great for a couple of reasons. First of all, the live chickens didn't always survive the long drives across the state. But if you slaughtered the chickens before the drive, it was like just risky because they didn't have refrigerated trucks back then and the chicken meat could go real bad, real fast. So John used every bit of savings he had and even borrowed some money to get his business off the ground.

He wanted more chickens so there'd be more deliveries and a bigger customer base. His plan was to deliver and sell chickens with his brilliant invention, the mobile chicken coop. That's funny. The mobile chicken coop meant that he would be able to feed them on long drives, give them access to water so they'd actually survive until they made it to the restaurant. And then, you know, then they could be killed.

Within his first year of chicken farming, business was booming. Things were going so well for John that he decided to deliver his chickens all the way to the big city of Chicago. Wait, is that Chicago?

whatever. Honestly, he killed it. He made so much more money in a bigger city like Chicago, and this convinced him to really go all in and like sell chickens across the whole Midwest. Now here's something I didn't realize. You know how chicken is kind of

Everywhere? It's everywhere. And usually at restaurants, it's like the less expensive option. Well, this wasn't always the case. Back in the 1930s, chicken was actually considered a luxury. During the Great Depression, most people couldn't afford meat like at all. But if they could,

they'd eat beef or pork. Cows and pigs didn't need special diets, so I guess they were cheaper to keep alive. I mean, these animals, you could feed them literal trash or put 'em near some grass, you know? So it was like, they're easy to maintain, and there was a lot more of their meat available. Chicken, when it came to chickens, they needed to actually be cared for. I know, ugh.

Bummer. They needed special grain and special seeds. Chicken was really only for people who could shell out the big bucks.

So chicken really wasn't eaten by the everyday person, but this actually turned out to be a really good thing for John Tyson, especially when World War II rolled around. In the 1940s during World War II, there was something called food rationing happening, and people had to give up things like sugar, dairy, and even meat so there'd be enough food to feed the soldiers who were fighting for our country. But chicken was not being rationed.

And like I said, the everyday person wasn't necessarily in the market for chicken. At this time, people were just obsessed with eating beef and pork.

So those became like the items that were limited. And thanks to people like John who were making it easier to transport chickens, they were more affordable now. And as soon as people realized that they could get their hands on chicken for a reasonable price, the demand just skyrocketed. In 1940, the United States Department of Agriculture, aka the USDA, they even created this contest called the Chicken of Tomorrow.

So with this contest, it was the very beginning of people starting to fatten chickens, you know, start making them look bigger and just filling them and getting them all buff and shit. This is where it starts because this damn contest. People saw chicken as a good way to feed their families. And over a decade, chicken consumption almost quadrupled. And companies like Tyson were using this as an opportunity to expand their businesses even more.

This is when Tyson starts his first big official business called Tyson Feed and Hatchery. Sounds a little spooky. Hatchery? Sounds like I'm gonna get hacked to death from Paul.

What's hatchery? Oh, eggs. Oh, it's so cute. I'm over here thinking I'm gonna get butchered. Okay, not scary. So he's got little baby chicks and eggs just everywhere. And this was so he could never run out of a supply of chickens. He even made the feed that the chickens would eat from scratch. He really like committed to growing the best chickens out there. And when he delivered the chickens to buyers, he would also deliver the feed

And John, he wasn't like just known for his good chickens. He really cared about his customers. In 1946, he actually loaded a plane full of chicks to ship to a local buyer so they'd get their best chickens possible. He once said, quote, "I decided early that if you had the best chicks in the area," chicks, "you'd have the best customers and get the best results."

I'm thinking of like hot babes and getting hatched to death, but that's the wrong story, I guess. Plus he was cashing in big time by using the business tactic vertical integration, which is something we've mentioned on the show a few times. Basically you control every stage of production.

the chicken mating, the chicken hatching, the growing of chickens, and also the selling of the chicken. And this makes it so that companies are able to save money by not having to outsource the work. But suddenly, after the war, the chicken industry was flopping like a chicken with its head cut off.

Diseases came to town and they were tearing through chicken farms. Chickens were dying, dropping left, right. And this meant that like the prices started to shoot up. You would think it would go lower, right? Because it's like they're all dying and stuff and they might be, I don't know, they might kill you. But no, prices shot up. Less people were willing to buy them. And this left many poultry growers like filing for bankruptcy. Shit.

Oh, but not for Tyson. Daddy Tyson over here. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time. But maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I

love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and

and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

You'll get it.

Tyson at this time was still a profitable company and other big meat competitors even wanted to, well, they really wanted to buy them up, them being John. But John, he was like, no, I've worked way too hard for this. He then pulled out his 22-year-old son, Don, out of college so that he could help him run the company. I guess Don had worked for Tyson a few years earlier as a chicken catcher.

So he went from catching chickens to running the business alongside his father. I mean, talk about a raise. Don and John, that sounds fake. Don and John together came up with a plan to not just survive this chicken flop era, but also to thrive and like just dominate.

So they pull a Rockefeller and they start buying up all the little chicken competitors in the area just to create one big poultry processing plant, which they called Randall Road Plant. Now, if you aren't a vegan or didn't forever traumatize yourself and Google this on YouTube, a processing plant is essentially a big factory that takes the chicken, they slaughter that chicken, they de-feather that chicken, cut it up,

and then they package it for selling. It's where like most of the grocery store chicken comes from today. Now this whole processing plant was all built under Don's leadership, and he was seen as someone who really knew how to lead the company. And not only that, just like his father, he really seemed to care about the people, the customers, whatever.

By 1963, Don was the vice president of Tyson, and thanks to the business risks he took, the company was able to go public under the new name Tyson Foods Inc. This meant people could now buy shares in Tyson, so there's going to be way more money coming into the company and way more to experiment with. At this point, it looks like nothing can stop them, really, until...

tragedy hits Tyson. By 1967, John Tyson and his wife Mildred were struck and killed by a train while driving through Springfield. Everyone was devastated, except for Don. You know, low key he was probably like, "Hell yeah,

because he gets to take over the company as chairman and CEO. The workers, they weren't really, well, they were probably really upset too, but they liked Don, so they were like, okay, he's CEO now, you know, whatever. Even though Don was the son of a millionaire businessman, he just seemed like he was pretty down to earth. Like one of the guys, get a beer after work kind of guy, you know? But guess what?

There was more to Don. There was more! Don may have been the salt of the earth good boy by day, but by night he was Jack the Ripper. I know, plot twist!

I'm just kidding. Okay, actually by night, he was raging with the elite of society. I mean, come on, of course he was. He was rubbing shoulders with members of the government and people like President Clinton. He threw these wild parties, I guess, that only the highest of society could get into. I know, I wanna know what happened there. Like, was it chicken theme?

Dress up like a chicken. Come get your own chicken. I don't know. So I guess Don would show up to like business meetings with these super hot models and he'd be all dressed up all fancy. Yeah. So I think that's where his money was going. Models. On top of that, he loved himself a yacht. He had a huge yacht and he traveled all over the world with it. He was a yacht daddy. And I mean...

It was just very different, you know, 'cause it just showed how much Tyson had changed since John was running the show. Now it was like, it was very flashy. And when Don took the reins of the Tyson company, he established a creepy little motto. Tyson told his employees the new company motto was grow or die.

I imagine it was aggressive like that. And I'll tell you one thing, they didn't die, so they were growers, not showers. The year is 1972 and Tyson is once again perfectly positioned to make

- Bank. - Because the American meat industry is about to take a huge hit. - Why, you ask? - Well, because of South American anchovies. They'll get ya. When they don't tell you, the anchovies are in it, and then there are, and you're like, "You liar!"

Anchovies, right? Okay. That year, a bunch of anchovies that were living off the coast of South America, well, they decided they were over it and they migrated and decided to live their happy little anchovy lives on another coast. And this left American farmers screwed because they used the anchovies for animal feed, which I didn't know animals liked anchovies.

Good to know. So the farmers were like, "What do we do?" They had to go looking for other ways to feed their animals, which were usually more expensive, which led to their meat prices to go up. People who were living in the '70s, they were pissed because, I mean, meat, whether it's chicken, pork, or beef, it was like the center of the American meal at this point, so they needed their meat.

They needed it. And then in 1970, there was even a boycott that was actually led by American housewives because they were pissed over the rising meat prices. It was actually one of the earliest examples of what experts call housewife activism. The public pressure these women put on meat suppliers even forced the president at the time, it was Nixon, to put caps on like how much they could charge on beef, pork, and lamb. And around that same time, something called

The burger wars started. Decisions, decisions. Should you stop for a McDLT or should you stop for a Whopper?

It was this lame competition between huge fast food franchises like McDonald's and Burger King over who had the best menu items. It's like, calm down, you guys. It's not that serious. Burger King was like, we got those flame-boiled patties. And McDonald's was like, yeah, we got that special sauce. They were, like, pricing their burgers a few cents higher or lower than their competitors, being all petty and angry. And they released all these commercials. Like, everyone just needed to calm their tits.

It's just a burger. You know, personally I would choose McDonald's because I love the orange. I see. Love ya. Or Mr. Pibb. Oh bitch. I'm a Mr. Pibber.

Okay, chicken. But while all this was going on, Tyson had been buying up chicken companies one by one behind the scenes, and they were quietly becoming a chicken Godzilla of a corporation. And Tyson was working with grocery stores with their rebranding, like how to actually stand out and make people want their chicken. Tyson wasn't just selling average looking chicken in plastic wrap. They were selling Tyson country fresh chicken.

Like what's country fresh even mean? What do you think about it, huh? It doesn't make sense. Okay, so I'm picturing some kind of like country of chickens. Maybe there's some hay, you know, maybe these cute little chickens are wearing overalls and just being all cute and like building a post office in some streets and just functioning way better than America. Unfortunately, it's ruined because realistically it comes from those scary metal food processing plants that just look like prison.

I like my country of chickens way better. But the most important thing Tyson was doing at this time was not being a burger because everything was about burgers. Everyone's arguing about Big Macs and Whoppers. I mean, the government was releasing studies that showed red meat wasn't actually that healthy for you. I guess the government, they even like came out and they were begging the public to stop eating so many hamburgers because maybe it wasn't that great.

This was great news for Tyson. A few years earlier, Don Tyson bought a company called Prospect Farms. They made a product that was not super common at the time: precooked frozen chicken breasts and thighs. Everyone loves a breast and a thigh.

By the 80s, Tyson was in refrigerators and freezers in nearly every grocery store in America. So the 80s was the era of the working mom. I'm talking those badass power suits, block cell phones, the hairspray, the power lesbian haircuts. It was everything.

And you know exactly what I'm talking about. Bad bitches in charge, making their own money. And the downside of that is like working moms felt like they had less time to cook a whole like raw chicken for dinner, right? So a lot of them would just kind of end up going with frozen chicken 'cause it was close enough. And plus it was already cooked so they don't have to worry about like giving anyone in the family food poisoning, which is good.

Suddenly, chicken consumption was up 30%, and this really became Tyson's golden era. In 1982, Tyson Foods made it on the Fortune 500 list, which is this list that ranks the 500 most powerful companies of the year. It's like the VIP list for companies. If you're on it, major bragging rights. You could just go up to everyone and be like, yeah, our chicken is the shit.

You suck. And honestly, can't say nothing back. They're not lying. Thanks to this, Tyson signed some new business that, in my personal opinion, changed the world. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I

love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and

and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

5% off.

So in the early 1980s, McDonald's was really struggling to sell something new to customers after that burger backlash. So they tried testing tons of different products, like a deep fried pot pie, a bite-sized onion ring. They even tried fried chicken, but nobody could compete with KFC. KFC's like, don't even try.

Don't even try bitch. Finally, the McDonald's CEO was like, "Hey, why don't we do like a bite-sized piece of chicken? What if we called it a chicken nugget, right?" I bet that guy went home and was like, "I did that shit." So they called up Tyson.

Right, get them on the line. And together with like a food scientist named Robert C. Baker from Cornell University, in 1983, together they birthed the McNugget. Yes! McNuggets make their debut on the McDonald's menu. Now this is a day I celebrate. This is my Christmas, the birthday of the McNugget.

And like, look, everyone was stoked. They loved this shit. It was an instant hit. They were like, what is this?

They didn't know. It was McNugget. Barbecue sauce? Try that bitch. Changed the game. We grew up eating McDonald's a lot and I would always get chicken nuggets and my sister would get the sweet and sour sauce and I was like, "Ew." I would get the barbecue. Barbecue is way better than the sweet and sour. Please don't even, you can't convince me. Okay? And then to this day, I mean, my chicken nuggets are my like comfort food. Don't come for me, I'm sorry, but I do like a 10 piece. What are you gonna do about it?

Okay? I know. Great. Okay, so anyways, McNuggets, a damn hit. They are banging, popping, living, laughing, loving. Yep. McDonald's, they were literally running out of chicken daily. Can you imagine?

Can you imagine? The news was doing reports on like how people would wait in long lines just to get their hands on a McNugget. And Tyson was becoming the go-to chicken company when it came to fast food. Over the next few years, Tyson's client list included Taco Bell, Burger King, and even Kentucky Fried Chicken. By 1986, Tyson officially becomes the number one poultry processor in all of America.

Tyson's products, I mean, they're in grocery stores, they're in school cafeterias, at the drive-through, they were everywhere. You couldn't avoid them. They even had a fun new little slogan,

Good. Doing our best just for you. Not really catchy or anything, right? But okay. But Tyson started to have some serious problems, okay? They're like, shit, man. We need more fucking chickens. I mean, they were having a hard time meeting demand and getting all that chicken out to their customers. So in 1989, Tyson, who's just flushed with cash at this point, decides to make

a boss ass move and they end up buying their competitor holly farms i know bye holly sorry girl you're out even though tyson was everywhere holly farms was the more trusted grocery store chicken brand people

People liked that one. Holly Farms was over like 100 years old and they didn't want to give up the company without a fight. So after negotiating for years, Don Tyson ends up paying $1.29 billion dollars

for Holly Farms. That's a lot of money. Holly was probably stoked though. She's on a jet ski now, just smiling, living. Good for her. I bet you it's not even Holly who owns it, right? So literally overnight, Tyson had doubled in size and their sales in the first year, ooh, that doubled too. And Tyson became the undisputed chicken fucking king of the world. Chicken King, the boss.

the chicken boss. So Tyson, they go on to spend the next few decades gobbling up other smaller chicken companies and expanding their product line to beef, pork, and even fish. But behind the curtain, Tyson is putting people and animals through hell. Let's talk about how they are able to sell so much chicken to people like you and me. But with everything they have going on, it's no wonder shit literally hits the fan, or chicken hits the fan.

But now that Tyson was such a large company, things obviously had to change. Farming and butchering back in the day was the size of a small family business. Things were done by hand. Animals were killed as efficiently as possible and usually pretty humanely, which is like what you would hope for, right? This was done with a stunning bolt to the head or a clean chop of the neck.

But then farmers raised these animals from babies, so they felt an obligation to keep their suffering to a minimum, right? It's like, I know that baby chicken. I named her Tommy. Tommy can be a name for both men and women.

Sorry. Anyways, people were getting, they were attached to the chickens. So, you know, they're gonna be nice when they chop their head off. Say a prayer. This is also back when chickens were like free range and living outside and also eating a healthy diet. But all this changed with the industrial revolution and big brands like Tyson. They slaughtered 45 million chickens every week. That's a lot of chickens.

And they aren't just slaughtering them. It's cheaper for Tyson to be in control of every aspect of the chicken's life. This is so that they can raise them and butcher them as quickly as possible, which honestly sucks if you're a chicken, right? Today, the birds that are raised by Tyson are selectively bred to be supersized, but these chickens are intentionally bred to be so big that they can barely walk.

So once they've hatched their Frankenstein super-sized chicks, they're de-beaked, which use your imagination on that one because I didn't know they'd de-beaked them. Brutal. And then they live their lives in either a feathery mosh pit or inside cages so small that the poor chicks can't even stretch their wings. Then they're pumped with hormones to make them as fat as possible. And all of this happens in a big ass factory.

If you're a Tyson chicken, odds are you've most likely never seen the sun or even the grass. It's kind of like the chicken matrix, except they don't get a beautiful simulation to escape to and obviously no Keanu Reeves.

So not ideal. But this isn't even getting into the nitty gritty of it all. Back in 2022, Vox reported on an undercover investigation of Tyson. Well, let me tell you, of a Tyson factory farm. And this farm was like outside of Richmond, Virginia. Great. And this was like the kind of article where I didn't want to keep reading, but of course, naturally, I kept reading. The investigator documented hours and hours of evidence

horrifying footage. They reported that many of these Tyson chickens were stuffed into dark warehouses and had quote, "severe injuries, wounds, and deformities." Yeah, you think? They're beefing them up. Of course they're deformed. They have these little ass little chicken legs. They have literal chicken legs and bigger bodies. They can't even walk, it's so sad. Now, oh my God, chicken legs. It all makes sense now. I never put two and two together.

God, I love this show. Learn something new. Chicken leg went right over my head. Anyways, back to the sadness. Sorry, chicken legs though, noted. They saw chickens deprived of food and water. There was like rat infestations and bugs in the chickens feed. The investigator said, quote, "It's a living nightmare. A video does not do it any justice." End quote.

I bet you it smelled like shit. I mean, this horror show is the polar opposite of the advertising you see on the Tyson chicken packaging about their chicks being happy and healthy and running in this country of fresh chickens. Okay, well, listen to this. So you know how those free range labels you see on chickens and eggs at the grocery store? And you're like, yay! What does that even mean? I don't know, but free?

You know, the chicken had a good life or... Well, I'm about to blow your mind. Because those expensive labels...

They don't mean a damn thing. I know, isn't that illegal? You would think. Well, in a quote, "surprisingly candid conversation" between the Vox reporter and a Tyson worker, the Tyson worker openly said that the free range labels were essentially meaningless. Then the reporter brought up a Tyson competitor

and was like, "Oh my God, I wonder how they're doing free range chickens over there." And then the Tyson worker was like, "Oh, they don't." I mean, that's lame. In the secret recording, the Tyson worker goes on to say that those birds don't go outside, you know that. If they do, it's strictly for commercial purposes. Oh, that's cute. Like when they do the little shots, little photo shoots, that's when they take them outside.

They pick the prettiest birds for commercials and they toss them out in the grass. Be like, "You look good." Throw them out in the grass, get their photos, and then put it back in, you know? So it's just, it's all fake, you guys. Everything is fake. The chickens are not happy, okay?

Now, this is just one guy who said this and who knows how accurate these statements are, but why would he lie? You know, I mean, it's concerning. There's gotta be some truth in there. And across the board, free range labels, honestly, don't mean squaddly shit, okay? And yeah,

You're welcome. That's all you should take away from this. It just seems like this is one of those dirty secrets that you only know if you work in the meat industry. But companies like Tyson must know that if they use the right visuals on their products and use words like free range, most likely people will kind of calm down a little bit and they'll feel okay about eating chicken, about their purchase, about where they're buying.

you know? Most of us aren't thinking about the abuse and deformed vampire chickens who never see the sun that's probably in that package and you're about to eat, right? Now this technique of using words that really mean nothing is what people call humane washing. Like green washing, but instead it's like with animal treatment. Humane washing. Isn't this illegal? Right? I don't get it.

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in a different undercover investigation in 2005. A reporter said that on nine separate instances, they saw Tyson factory workers in Heflin, Alabama, of course, Alabama, sorry, but Alabama, peeing in the live hang area where the chickens were getting slaughtered. They also saw the workers peeing directly on the conveyor belt that leads chicken to the slaughter. What is wrong with this place? Where are we? First of all, Tyson, uh,

You should probably give your employees some bathroom breaks, maybe a nice bathroom so they don't have to pee on the chicken. Just a thought I had. I don't know. And second of all, I don't know about you, but I don't want, I don't want pee flavoring on my chicken.

I don't think anybody does, right? The stress and unsanitary conditions of all this, it can lead to spreading diseases. I mean, quick, right? Workers at Tyson plants have said that cockroaches, flies, and crickets are fucking all over the place in some plants.

and can even end up inside the nuggets and the hamburgers that are supplied to grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and even schools because fuck the children, says Tyson. I'm just kidding. They didn't say that, but like I'm imagining in my mind that maybe they did. Carlos Sanchez, he's a Tyson worker who has been at the company for over a decade, is a machine operator in the plant that makes burgers and chicken nuggets.

And Carlos told a reporter that, quote, "The pressure is horrific and that speed is more important than safety, with workers stressed, tired, and just rushing around." That's why he says so many employees trip and fall. The cleaners complained about the same problem, saying they can do what they can, but the machinery often stinks and there are cockroaches inside. Carlos also said that he told supervisors at Tyson about the cockroaches.

and even pointed out the flies and the crickets that were frozen inside blocks of Tyson's ground up chicken. But no one did anything. The meat mixer just keeps on mixing.

Carlos said that he's seen meat mislabeled as antibiotic-free when really it isn't. But Tyson's only comment to this was, quote, "Our plants and meats are routinely checked by USDA for quality and safety." End quote. Sure, Tyson, sure. Or should we blame the USDA? Who are we? We're mad. We're mad. And when it comes to the slaughter part of the equation, things get even sketchier.

Tyson uses a method called live shackle slaughter, which goes a little something like this. The chickens are essentially baptized in electrified water, praise God, and then dragged across a conveyor belt with a blade that slits their throat while they're still fully cautious. And even with this process, which is described as, quote, terrifying, excruciating, and extremely stressful, stuff goes wrong a lot of the time.

Sometimes birds aren't stunned properly. Yeah, so it's like, oops. And then sometimes the blade that's supposed to slit their throat, it doesn't. It just like kind of misses and it cuts their leg or their chest or whatever. And then these full alive birds are dumped into tanks of like,

scalding water and then boiled alive. And the life shackle process isn't just terrible for the animals, it's also extremely hazardous and stressful for the workers in these facilities as well. I mean, could you imagine if you accidentally touched the electrifying water? Or maybe like you go home, how do you not think about all the chickens you just slaughtered?

That's gotta be a little stressful, right? Now companies that get their chicken from Tyson said that they were going to like look into better slaughter methods. Okay. Like in May of 2020, McDonald's of course, they said they were committing to getting rid of the live shackle process. It's like, shut up McDonald's. No, you're not. Come on. I mean, they promised they would have a different method in place by 2024.

This is huge because McDonald's is, as we know it, one of Tyson's biggest buyers. So without their, you know, Ronald McDonald daddy, Tyson would be in some serious trouble. But I'm sure Tyson's just gonna start lying to everybody like, "Yeah, we do it. Super cool. We gas mask them." So when McDonald's made this news public, Tyson was real quick to announce that they would stop using live shackle slaughter. But...

Kind of odd because I couldn't find a date in that publicity statement, so chances are they're gonna probably still keep doing it. Shut up. On top of all the blades and electricity and dangerous machinery which the Tyson employees are working with, Tyson reportedly refused to put quote "adequate safety measures in place during the peak

of the COVID pandemic. I mean, employees weren't allowed to take sick leave or anything. And more than 4,500 Tyson workers came down with COVID-19 in 2020, and at least 18 of those employees died.

A woman named Annalita Lopez worked for years at a Tyson processing plant in Green Forest, Arkansas, where she would butcher chickens. And she said that the whole factory honestly stinks, that there's water leaking through the roof and cockroaches, well, they just rot.

have fun around the dining room and an employee's locker. Shit was not ideal. And then things got even worse in 2020. Annalita was one of the Tyson employees who caught COVID at work. She unfortunately infected her husband, who was recovering from a surgery, and sadly he died three days later. Annalita said, quote, "If the company had taken better care, I might not have gotten COVID and my husband would still be alive."

Most of Tyson's manual work is done by immigrants in low-income communities who are exploited and treated terribly.

Magali Licoli, who is the director of a workers' rights organization called Venceremos, says that, quote, "Knowing Tyson is allowed to exploit them weighs heavy on the workers' shoulders, like they're not seen as human beings, just labor," end quote. But it's just not the workers getting the shit end of the stick. It's also the environment. Here's something I think a lot of us just don't think about. What happens to all the chicken poop?

I mean, there's gotta be a lot of chicken poop, right? The amount of literal chicken poop that these chicken factories produce, I guess is like completely out of control. I mean, visualize, close your eyes, babe. Visualize a mountain of chicken shit, the size of the Empire State Building. And with that visual you have right now, you're headed into the right direction. That's exactly how much shit they're doing. Factory farms have an official name for this, which is called

chicken litter. And this chicken litter is full of chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorus. On a small, like a family farm, the litter can be used for like fertilizer and even composting. And that could be a great thing, you know? But at Tyson, they're not really about good things. I feel like in my personal opinion, they really aren't farming anything else. They're just kicking chickens around.

I mean, it's chicken and chicken and like that's it. So there's all of this excess fertilizer, which in high quantities is actually like dangerous. In 2017, just one Tyson plant in Arkansas, they produced 50 billion tons of chicken poop. What do you do with all the chicken poop?

And studies showed that this drastically affected the air quality of this area. And tons of this chicken waste eventually finds its way into local water supplies, either through rain runoff or dumping.

Okay, so poop and water. Besides it being gross, it's that the nitrogen and the phosphorus from the poop is like giving algae and other bacteria a freaking steroid injection. They're starting to get fucking amped. I mean, any algae already living in the water will just...

Pop off, thrive, become Arnold Schwarzenegger of the sea. No, I'm not of the sea, rivers, whatever. Look, these are called algae blooms. They thrive because of shit. Have you ever seen a river or pond and it looks like a neon green science project kind of just happened there? Yeah, so that's algae bloom. And they can like take over entire lakes and rivers and turn clean water into like

Nickelodeon slime. I feel like that is a bad reference because I always wanted to be slimed.

I want to be slimed so bad. So bad. Okay, so, but yeah, bad. The algae blooms are bad for plants, bad for animals, and bad for anyone who might want to swim in like the water or drink that water. Great. Over the years, Tyson has faced tons of claims that they are single-handedly just decimating Arkansas's water supplies. There have been investigations where they've been proved that the company is releasing quote, "excessive"

End quote. Amounts of nitrogen and that phosphorus I mentioned. And all of this goes right into Arkansas' major streams and rivers. For instance, the Illinois River has major pollution issues, most of them leading back to Tyson. And this is like a real problem because as rivers get polluted and filled with bacteria, entire ecosystems can just die. And then it all trickles down to human health.

because people are fishing in these rivers and also eating the fish. Sometimes the contamination can get into the water sources that we rely on for drinking. The point is, chicken shit is in you right now.

I'm just kidding. But it's all connected. That's the point. A lot of these towns where the worst pollution is happening are impoverished Latino and indigenous communities in Arkansas like Benton and Washington, where no one has the resources to step up and challenge this freaking Goliath of a company. And honestly, it kind of reminded me of our Coca-Cola episode, but no Coke. But do you remember like the city that became a ghost town because Coca-Cola drained them of all their water resources?

Oh, you don't? Okay, well, it's just like that. Big corporations in general, it just feels like they aren't really good for anything except convenience, right? And unfortunately, we Americans love convenience.

You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I

I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman

and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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AI.com slash dark history.

Tyson has closed down and gobbled up so many small farms to the point where for tons of people it's now the only option at the grocery store and you might not even realize it. Just because it doesn't say Tyson on the label doesn't mean it's not Tyson. They're hiding in plain sight behind other names like Hillshire Farms.

Jimmy Dean. I know. Sara Lee. State Fair. That's another one, just to name a few. Tyson and three other companies now control over 87% of poultry production in Arkansas, and that could soon become true for the rest of the country.

Probably. And I guess it's like basically common knowledge in the business world that if a company controls 40% or more of any market, it's mega bad news for consumers, workers, small businesses, and also the planet.

Hi. If all this wasn't bad enough, the real scary thing is that Tyson is becoming too big to fail because they're approaching a monopoly level chokehold on us. Honestly, it sounds like they already have. Rebecca Boehm, an economist and author said that, quote, "When a company like Tyson can get so big and powerful,

Well, yeah, because number one, what if there's a contamination issue?

Thousands of people could be affected by a Tyson contamination in just a few days. Just last year in February of 2022, Reuters released a report that said quote "highly lethal bird flu" end quote was detected in Tyson Foods chickens. Missed that news. This was such a huge outbreak that countries like China and Korea stopped buying poultry products from Tyson. I don't blame them, do you? No.

Good for them. Fuck Tyson. Now at this point, like Tyson was forced to recall more than 8.5 million pounds of frozen chicken in the U.S. And like, I wonder what they did with it, huh? This chicken was likely contaminated with listeria, which is a bacteria that can be

Fatal. And this is actually the third leading cause of death from food poisoning. For every 1,600 people that get sick from listeria, about 260 die of it every year. So yeah, this recall, it was pretty serious. And like I said, I mean, plenty of people might not have even known their chicken was recalled because

Tyson's brands are everywhere. Now, Tyson Food representatives, they claim that they're doing their part to follow safety protocol and water and waste disposal regulations. But a lot of people are skeptical about that. Why should we believe them? They've been shady for a very long time. Environmentalists and concerned citizens have filed lawsuits against Tyson, hoping to hold them accountable. But with companies this big,

you know, like Tyson and Monsanto, there are always loopholes and escape routes. And honestly, you could just pay people off to get your way, right? Between the year 2000 and 2021, Tyson has been fined over $169 million. And these fines cover everything from employment violations, environmental violations, and even criminal penalties.

In 2018, they had to pay $2 million for a massive slaughtering of fish in Missouri caused by their pollution. They're involved in ongoing lawsuits for their employee negligence in 2020 that allowed COVID to spread in Tyson plants. Safety protocol aside, these Tyson factory jobs are scary.

You're watching chickens get their head cut off. Jesus. I mean, Carlos Sanchez, that worker who saw frozen bugs inside Tyson's chicken, he summed it up the best. He said, quote, "Tyson earns billions while we have to work in brutal conditions for low pay. I would never recommend anyone work for the company." End quote.

I appreciate that honesty. Workers attest to being exposed to chemicals, dangerous equipment, and extreme temperatures at minimum. In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the non-fatal injury and illness rates in the chicken processing industry were higher than in all, all other industries. Wow.

- Wow, I know. According to a 2016 report, Tyson averages one employee amputation per month. That's a lot of limbs. Yeah, when you think about that, I mean, if you went to your place of work and someone was losing a limb at least once a month,

Would you want to work there? No, you can't pay me enough to put that at, right? I mean, call me crazy, but this isn't war. This isn't like a factory that's working to cure cancer. All these people are getting hurt and having their lives ruined for what? To stuff your drunk ass face with chicken nuggets at 3 a.m. and then puke it back up

Right? You ungrateful bitch. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not losing a limb for chicken nuggets. I'm sorry. I think we can all agree on that. Thank you for agreeing with me. So screw Tyson for not being honest with us and misleading us, right? Like how does this even happen in America?

Well, this is dark history and if you've been listening, you know how this happens. But it got me thinking like, what are we supposed to do? People just want to be able to feed their families at the end of the day, get their protein. But like little do they know that it's filled with all this garbage. And I'm not like saying to boycott chicken nuggets or meat altogether, unless that's your choice, of course. I personally love meat and I love my McNuggets as much as the next person.

But like knowing about all the dangers that big companies are putting people and animals through, it makes you want to like, I don't know, do extra research to make sure you know what you're putting in your body. At least it does for me. I mean, we all have the right to know the impact factory farming has on our lives.

our health, our animals, and the environment because we all live here, right? Because then we can make the choice to do what we feel is right. Like for example, now that we all know that free range labels are complete bullshit, shouldn't it be illegal to do that? Let's go back to that branches of government dark history episode and let's make a law. Who's down? They'll say something about like, I forget.

Great. Oh, you can't say free range.

Fuck that. They're such little fuckers. These companies don't seem to get in trouble whenever they lie to us. It's always our fault for some reason. And Tyson ends up giving us nasty food instead of like free range organic stuff that we're paying extra money for. So gross. It's just another big corporation taking over and ruining the industry. And now we're becoming very dependent on them. It's a very toxic one-sided relationship.

And honestly, look, I mean, I don't have the answers, but I do know that we need to demand more from our corporations because they're the ones with all the freaking money to fix it. So let's brainstorm together and work in the comment sections of how we're going to take down Tyson.

Um, let me know. I'm down. Okay. Watch. They're gonna put me on their hit list. I'm gonna be like one of those chickens. Oh god. After doing so much research into Tyson, I had even more questions about companies that so many of us buy from every single day. I mean, these companies are like the backbone of our country. They're the subject of endless documentaries. They're nostalgic, a little evil, and...

Honestly, delicious. So tune in next week on our deep dive into the dark history of fast food.

And don't forget to join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can also catch my murder, mystery, and makeup. Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian High, Junia McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Enloe from Maiden Network.

A big thank you to our writers, Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, Allison Filobos, and me, Bailey Sarian.

Production lead, Brian Jaggers. Research provided by the Dark History Researcher team. A special thank you to our expert, Simran Grewal. And I'm your host, hi, Bailey Sarian. And social comments. Great, my favorite. Kelly said, "Bailey's always coming in clutch during my chores."

"Aw, Kelly, that's so nice." When I'm doing my chores, I just moan and complain the whole time, like, until it's over. So I like your idea better. But I don't wanna listen to me. Oh my God, I'm so sick of me. Christina said, quote, "Hi, Bailey. I have been watching your channel actively for more than three years." Love it.

"Could you do a dark history about Viking rituals? Thank you. Sending love from London." London? Can I come visit? Honestly, I've kind of always been interested in Viking stuff. So this kind of, I'm interested. I'm interested and I'll circle back. Beneath the Roses said, "Bailey needs to be one of the teachers in all the next seasons of Wednesday Addams."

Thank you, Beneath the Roses. Who do I, do you have the number? Who do I reach? How do I make this happen? Because yes, I will. Great. Well, you guys, it's been such a fun journey, Hasadent. Been all bad news. Don't eat Tyson chicken. And thanks for watching. I hope you have a good rest of your day. Make good choices. And I'll talk to you next week. Goodbye.

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I'm Stanzi Potenza. And I'm Brad Padre. Launching June 13th is our new podcast, Late to the Party. In this post-ironic chat show, we'll show you a window into our world of crazy post-ironic thoughts. An unlikely friendship founded on a shared love for riffs, ranting, and getting absolutely wrecked.

Consider this an invitation to our inside jokes. You're late to the party, but no one cool ever shows up on time. Follow Late to the Party on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this kind of stuff.