The demonstration took place in Arkansas, where Tyson is headquartered and a state in which a child as young as 14 can legally work a 48-hour week. Tyson is a leading multinational meat producer who sets the standard for industry practices. The appalling conditions in U.S. meatpacking facilities are yet another example of how our factory food systems fail us all: animals, people, and the planet.

Read on to get a better understanding of what’s happening in these meatpacking plants, and how we’re working to “Build the Good”: just, sustainable, plant-based food systems that nourish everyone.

In recent months, child labor has been found in meat production facilities across the country. Both Tyson and Perdue Farms are currently the focus of an ongoing Department of Labor inquiry prompted by the discovery that children — some as young as 13 years old — were cleaning dangerous equipment and working overnight hours in plants operated by these major meat producers.

On factory farms, children are among many undocumented immigrants who work long hours, face the risk of severe injuries, and have little recourse to address these unfair and hazardous conditions.

According to OSHA data spanning 2015-mid 2022, and covering employers in 29 states:

• On average, 27 workers per day suffer an amputation, the loss of an eye, or another serious injury requiring hospitalization.
• Tyson accounted for the fifth-highest number of severe employee injuries among all employers listed, with 279 reported incidents.
• The power of a few large corporations makes many of these problems worse. The four largest companies in chicken, pig, and cow processing own 54 percent, 67 percent, and 85 percent of the market, respectively.

Factory farming relies on harms to workers, animals, and our shared environment in order to feed primarily wealthy nations. We need equity across the supply chain in order to create a just working environment and a just food system.

Farm Sanctuary supports workers and activists striving for change, and we acknowledge the immense harm caused to animals, people, and the planet as a result of animal agriculture’s industrial facilities. 

The dangerous and unjust conditions faced by workers in these plants are compounded by the reality that most of these facilities are operated by just a few corporations, like Tyson and Perdue. As the U.S. meat industry has become increasingly consolidated, animals, workers, small-scale farmers, and the environment have paid the price while multi-billion dollar companies have profited. 

Each day, we are working to Build the Good by actively working towards a just and sustainable food system. In these efforts, we are collaborating with others to inform our advocacy work — one excellent example being the Food Chain Workers Alliance.

The Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA), which represents more than 375,000 workers and combats exploitation, co-signed Farm Sanctuary’s comments to the USDA on food system supply chain transformation. The comments call for an end to government subsidies supporting industrial agriculture and a shift in investment to just, sustainable, plant-based agriculture. In the comment, the sign-on groups (representing more than 19.9 million members nationwide), recognized that the industry’s harms to humans, other animals, and the environment are interconnected.

The FCWA believes there must be greater recognition that we need frontline workers and that  “the food system can be a focal point for justice work.” Farm Sanctuary stands in agreement and we are thankful for the work of individuals and organizations working towards justice in our food system.

In the past two years, Farm Sanctuary has reached out to more than 2,000 organizations and taken our efforts to form a better food system to Capitol Hill, hosting a Congressional Food System Staffer Appreciation Day as we advocate for both animal and farmworker justice. We have supported crucial legislation including the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act, the Farm System Reform Act, and changes to the coming Farm Bill that would benefit workers as well as animals.

As we work to transform our food system, we continue building a table at which everyone has a seat, and anyone can join us.

Take Action: Volunteer with Farm Sanctuary! The meat industry is powerful, but with your help, we can create meaningful change. Together, we can Build the Good. Apply to get involved today, and stay tuned: Soon there will be exciting new ways to take part in our advocacy efforts.