Tyson Foods Inc: Disclosure of Waste Lagoon Harm Mitigation Practices

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WHEREAS:  Use of waste lagoons in industrial livestock production contributes to adverse human and environmental health impacts, raising reputational, litigation, and long-term financial viability risks.   

Waste lagoons are open pits that hold wastewater containing urine, feces, and other waste materials from concentrated animal feeding operations. Problems with these lagoons are a source of material litigation, regulatory, and reputational risk to Tyson’s business.

Waste lagoons:

  1. Make Workers and Communities Sick. The noxious gases and pollutants released into the air[1] from waste lagoons, and especially from spraying their contents onto surrounding fields,[2] can cause asthma, cancer, lung inflammation, and other harms to workers and nearby communities.[3], [4]

  2. Contaminate Drinking Water. Waste lagoons often overflow or leak into groundwater, releasing pollution into nearby drinking wells. Ingesting water contaminated by waste lagoons can cause cancer, endocrine disruption, blue-baby syndrome, and antibiotic resistance.[5]

    Waste lagoon pollution also drains into surrounding rivers, lakes, and wetlands, creating algal blooms that can cause fish fatalities and harm local economies.[6] Such harms are worsened by climate change, which increases heavy precipitation, superstorms, and hurricane frequency, making waste lagoon overflows more likely. Cause Reputational, Litigation, & Regulatory Risk.[7] Tyson has also been under intense public scrutiny and has been sued for different types of wastewater pollution, creating significant reputational damage and costly litigation. In 2019, a Tyson facility spilled 220,000 gallons of wastewater into the Black Warrior River, releasing high levels of E.Coli, killing nearly 200,000 fish and creating unusable drinking water for at least six cities.[8] Tyson agreed to pay $3,025,000 to affected communities.[9] Tyson has acknowledged material risk related to “environmental liabilities, such as costs related to the disposal of wastes.”[10]

Tyson reports that it is developing “Contextual Water Plans at 11… high-risk locations” to improve water quality.[11] In the company’s Water Position Statement, it declares that, by the end of 2020, it seeks to have “reduced the water quality impacts associated with key agricultural commodities” and will “set contextual targets to respond to issues in the surrounding watersheds for its priority facilities.”[12] To date, Tyson has not publicly identified all its high-priority facilities, reported targets, stated whether waste lagoons are included, or reported progress toward goals.

In a competitive marketplace that increasingly demands safe food and reduced harm to stakeholders and the environment, understanding, assessing, and reporting on progress in reducing waste lagoon impacts reduces risk for shareholders and our Company.

BE IT RESOLVED:  Shareholders request that Tyson issue a report, at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, disclosing any steps the Company is taking to address environmental and human health harms from waste lagoons in its owned facilities and its pork supply chain.

Resolution Details

Company: Tyson Foods Inc

Lead Filer: 
As You Sow 

Year: 2026

Filing Date: 
August 2025

Initiative(s): Antibiotics and Factory Farms

Status: Filed

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Environmental HealthAs You SowAntibiotics and Factory Farms, Antibiotics, Meat, Supply Chain, Factory Farms, Tyson, Tyson Foods