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Bloomberg Businessweek August 20, 2018In his irst few months at the helm, Hayes replaced6 of 10
division heads—many with hires from outside the meat indus-
try. He also created two roles: chief technology oicer and
chief sustainability oicer.
Hayes and his team rolled out new sustainability goals in
rapid succession: Tyson would remove antibiotics from all
Tyson-branded chicken products in 2017. It would slash its
greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030, not only inter-
nally but also throughout its supply chain. It would continue
to improve eiciency at its plants, expand organic product
oferings, and practice sustainable land management on 2 mil-
lion acres of corn grown for animal feed. Hayes pledged to
enhance employee welfare, improve animal treatment, and
strengthen rubrics that protect a Tyson-raised animal’s right
to “a life that’s worth living.”
He also began trumpeting a plan to shift his company from
a grower and processor of meat to a producer, broadly, of pro-
teins. In May the company became a seed investor in Future
Meat Technologies Ltd., an Israeli startup developing “cultured
meats” from cells in petri dishes. Tyson was also a major player
in a recent investment round for Memphis Meats Inc., a com-
pany in San Francisco developing lab-grown beef, poultry, and
ish that’s also funded by Bill Gates. And in December of lastyear, Tyson joined in a $55 million round of inancing for the
California-based startup Beyond Meat Inc., the leading brand
in plant-based protein products nationwide.
Tyson isn’t the only player in the conventional meat indus-
try making unconventional investments. Cargill Inc. bought
into Memphis Meats, too. Perdue Farms Inc. is investing in
humane processing equipment, slow-growth chicken breeds,
and niche organic brands. Even Hormel Foods Corp., maker
of Spam, is developing animal-free products. If Tyson doesn’t
stay ahead of the game, it runs the very real risk of falling
behind. “We want to actively disrupt ourselves,” says Hayes.
“We don’t want to be Kodak.”
He won’t disclose how much money he’s plowing into alter-
native proteins, but for now, it’s far less than he’s putting into
status quo meat production. The entire fund Hayes established
for sustainable technology investment is $150 million—about
half the cost of a poultry complex Tyson is building. But even
his iercest critics say these investments are a worthwhile start.
At the Discovery Center, Tyson’s test cooks have been for-
mulating protein bowls made from ingredients such as quinoa,
lentils, and chickpeas for the company’s vegetarian brand,
Green Street, set to hit stores in 2019. Hayes points out a new
refrigerated product that contains a hard-boiled egg, a handfulTyson’s state-of-
the-art hatchery
in Springdale