Tyson Plant Processes Chicken in Kansas

A strange sight was beholden to us as we traveled through wretched weather in Kansas.
No, I'm not referring to tornados we dodged near Dodge City.
No, I'm not referring to the cattle feed lots that announce themselves through your nose.
No, I'm not referring to flat ribbons of road disappearing into the horizon.
It was the Tyson Plant.

Chicken

I'm referring to chicken. Tyson chicken. In the middle of Kansas in Garden City stands the Tyson plant. They process the chicken you buy in the supermarket. Yes, in the middle of cattle-raising Kansas, where there are more cows than people, where the land is flatter than my hair on a bad hair day, they're packaging chicken--of all animals--where you least expect it!

Tyson chicken

The Tyson Plant was huge. Two huge employee parking lots were full to overflowing. People were working--a lot of them--judging by all the cars in the lots.

My immediate mental questions were 1.) who's working there, and 2.) from where do they get the chickens? These were legitimate puzzlements since a.) there simply aren't that many people in Kansas, never mind in its western reaches, and b.) there isn't one observable chicken being raised anywhere in Kansas. They grow cattle, corn, and tornados in Kansas, not chickens!

Kansas chicken?

Turns out that the chickens are brought in from elsewhere. Tyson gets its chicken from independent poultry growers across the country. Recipients of Tyson's Poultry Environmental Stewardship awards included growers in North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. One might presume Tyson chickens are as good as the award-winning environments they grew in before getting to Kansas.

Somalians for chicken

Turns out that Tyson's employees are brought in from elsewhere as well. The Garden City processing plant has hired immigrant Somalis. They comprise about 25% of its 1,100 workforce.

Coming from refugee camps, the Somalis came to Tyson for the work. Their small community in Shelbyville raised concerns among locals about their Muslim culture, nomadic ways, disease including TB and HIV, language, and cheap labor for Tyson. But, by the looks of the parking lot, gainful employment trumps cultural differences.

Chicken made in America

So, the usual associations we make with Kansas go beyond tornados, flat lands, and feed lots. Kansas poses opportunity for people. And Tyson--like the chickens--cares less where their employees come from than their desire to make their own way in the world. Tyson stands for American values, putting protein on our tables and putting people to work.

I'm for all of that...except for the tornados.

Sources:
http://www.bartamaha.com/?p=30076
http://www.t-g.com/story/1300124.html
http://www.tyson.com/Consumer/AboutTyson/TysonCares/Environment.aspx