According to the United Nations, agriculture uses around 72% of the world’s freshwater withdrawals. Animal meat production accounts for nearly one-third of that freshwater consumption, according to research commissioned by animal welfare organization Compassion in World Farming.
Tyson Foods dumped millions of pounds of toxic pollutants directly into American rivers and lakes over the last five years according to new report.
The report says Tyson dumped 52.7 million pounds of pollutants into Illinois waterways between 2018 and 2022. 5.2 million pounds of pollutants came from Iowa plants.
According to a recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Tyson Foods dumped more than 371 million pounds of pollutants directly into the nation’s waterways between 2018 and 2022, including in Illinois and Iowa. More than half of this came from plants in Illinois, Nebraska and Missouri.
Meat processors pump a portion of that water, along with pounds of toxic pollutants, directly back into the rivers, streams and lakes it came from, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports.
The meat industry’s water usage generates millions of gallons of wastewater and is one of the largest sources of industrial nutrient pollution in the country, damaging human and environmental health.
The Union of Concerned Scientists is an advocacy group of researchers, policy experts, advocates and others with a mission statement that reads: “The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.”
The nonprofit’s report analyzed publicly available data from the EPA to break down the extent of Tyson’s water pollution.
