Tyson Foods Mission Statement

Who Is Tyson Foods, Inc.? Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that was founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas. As a major producer and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, the company is number six on the top ten food and beverage companies list that is dominating the global agro-food industries, based on data in ETC Group, 2008 (Dicken, 2015). Tyson Foods, Inc. recently merged with Hillshire Farms in 2014 and employs around 115,000 people in total (Tyson Foods, Inc., 2014). On the Tyson Foods, Inc. company website, their mission statement made by their chairman, John Tyson, reports that:

“Tyson Foods, Inc., recognizes the importance of being a responsible corporate citizen. Our Core Values – which

Tyson found thousands of chickens in Springdale, Arkansas during The Great Depression. As he began delivering chickens to larger markets in the Midwest, World War II came around in the 1940’s with a large demand, that then moved the business into raising the chicks and feed for local chicken farmers. By the 1950’s, John’s son, Don, began running much of the business side of things that by the 1960’s included a plan, growing team and plants, as well as a public market taking acquisitions in every direction. Heading into the 1970’s with a new name and look, the 1980’s brought phenomenal growth as well as the 1990’s initiating added products of beef and pork. By the 2000’s, Tyson Foods, Inc. projected visions, core values, and innovations that brought them to the 2010’s of making a difference for many around the world.

As food production is continually transforming, although relatively slowly, production, distribution and consumption processes have become more industrialized. Yet, while many countries contain overweight populations, paradoxically, many countries face the issue of starvation, even with its grounded and highly complex activities in production (Dicken, 2015). While Tyson Foods, Inc. employs around 115,000 people, 97,000 are team members based in U.S. locations, and the remaining 16,000 are team members based primarily in China, Mexico, Brazil, and India (Tyson Foods, Inc., 2014). With support largely concentrated locally—as processes are bound to specific climatic and socio-cultural conditions (Dicken, 2015)—they pay more than $15 billion to the 11,000 independent farmers in the U.S. who supply the company, while distribution and consumption increasingly becomes more global as Tyson Foods, Inc. facilitates more sales offices across international borders (Tyson Foods, Inc.,