Tyson Foods' Chicken Review

How many times are you at the store looking for what to make for dinner? Meandering around, wishing you had made a list prior to coming, getting hungry and looking for something easy and fulfilling. Then you come across the frozen section, finding it difficult to decide between the frozen entrée, pizza, or chicken wings.

Investigating what you eat

I am not a health nut by any means but I do know that frozen products, although cheap and easy, lack quality and nutritional value. In my experience, having even a basic amount of knowledge about different types of food can make a large impact on the type of products that I buy.

Investigating what you eat is something I highly recommend to others. One interest and concern of mine has always been the quality and production of meat products, specifically chicken. Tyson Foods’ is a one of the largest corporations in the food industry.  They produce an average of 41,000,000 head of chicken per week and have 57 chicken production plants compared to their 13­­–beef and 9–pork production plants. I have taken a closer look at Tyson chicken products and the roles that large corporations play in the meat industry from first-hand consumption of Tyson chicken and research. 

What do you think of Tyson's chicken?

Some of the key aspects of Tysons’ chicken that attract consumers are the taste of the product, price, and their easy-to-make nature. In a taste test of nine different frozen chicken nugget brands, Tyson was rated a 5.2 out of 10, which placed this particular product in second place out of the nine. 

Consumers of these chicken products are most likely aware of the additives and various other ingredients that are put into the product, but they still are buying and eating it. Tyson chicken is also very affordable. This controls the decision of buying one product over another for some consumers where money and the type of food they buy are delegated according to their budget.

First-hand use

I purchased Tysons’ Chicken nuggets to try out for myself and create my own personal review on the product. I think if anyone is questioning a product they should research it and purchase the product to create a personal opinion. It is always difficult, especially with food, to take someone else’s opinion on the taste and quality. 

I found the chicken to have an interesting texture that was not that enjoyable but the flavor and crispness of the breading was tasty. The price was affordable, which is convenient for people like me who are still in college and lack in funds. Overall I found the products to be tolerable, but when I started to research Tyson and their production process, it provided me a different overall outlook.

What I found while researching Tyson Foods' 

I not only found a recall of 75k frozen chicken nuggets due to plastic pieces found throughout the chicken, but I also found articles on the meat industry’s high use of antibiotics in their livestock. 

The treatment of these animals throughout the production process is unbearable, in my opinion. According to the article, Something like meat but not meat, regarding the food industry mentions Tyson and, “how misshapen are millions of their animals and how little awareness most of the populace has regarding any of it, and I momentarily find myself wondering how the hell they get away with it without some sort massive consumer backlash”.

 

Antibiotics place in agriculture

These are healthy animals that “are often fed antibiotics at low doses for disease prevention and growth promotion” says Mercola in his article, The Dangers of Eating Chicken . This could be considered a problem because 80 percent of the antibiotics produced in the U.S. are for agricultural uses. I see this in two separate ways. I know that disease among livestock is hard to control and antibiotics help maintain the health of these animals, making it a better solution than killing off the diseased animals. I also know that these antibiotics are being given to the animals at low dosages everyday creates a high chance of superbugs (antibiotic resistant bacteria). This has a negative impact on all consumers of these products because the bacteria has grown to resist antibiotics, which means the antibiotics will not be effective for humans that get sick from the bacteria.

Why is Tyson seen as the problem?

Tyson has many bad reviews for their quality but when compared to other brands produced in the meat industry, they have some similarities, so they abide by the general trend. So why does Tyson always get front page in nearly every meat industry problem or accident? Well, this is due to the fact that Tyson controls and owns the majority of the meat industry. They play a role not only in the industry but with the FDA and other large corporations that have control over what gets put into your store. 

Tyson has made it challenging for new young farmers to start raising chickens; they control most chicken plants and leave little room for outside farmers to make any sort of living. The start up cost for farmers that want to be contracted under Tyson is also a few pretty pennies.
Video of Polyface, Inc. Farmer discusses raising chickens 

Other options outside the meat industry

Although Tyson has a hand in much of the meat industry and production plants, there are other options available for farmers and consumers when it comes to the kind of meat they produce or eat.  Polyface, Inc. farm is an example of farming outside of the industry that is organic and natural. As a consumer, one can choose to take the time to gain a bit of knowledge about where your food comes and how its made from research or first-hand use.