Research for my Wall Street Journal was done on Tyson Foods, the worlds largest meat manufacturer.  From November 12th to February 20th, these 3 articles were found concerning three major areas: Articles directly about Tyson Foods, their competitors, and the food industry as a whole. Finding articles for this area proved more difficult than anticipated, however through careful planning and by laying them out in a set arrangement, the page flows well and in a discernible order. 
I added value to this page by performing the following steps:

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• Stock Ticker (Click 'Custom' to add Tyson Foods. Symbol: TSN)
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• Easy to navigate Table of Contents with return to top links
• Quote boxes (Sierra Club, Nabisco)

1.  Kilman, Scott.  "Tyson Foods to Curb Use of Baytril,
Antibiotic Targeted for Ban by FDA." Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2002.

Tyson Foods, the nation's largest chicken producer, said it will sharply decrease use of a drug that the government wants prohibited.  The drug, known as Baytril is produced by the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG.  Even though only two tenths of a percent of the 2.1 billion chicken were administered the drug, Tyson claims it won't be difficult to cut back.  The only birds administered the medication were those that were sick, Tyson will simply use other antibiotics.

Bayer AG will not be affected by the move, as the antibiotic will still be used on other birds, just not those meant for human consumption.  The move has please the FDA and others who have for years been criticizing the use of such antibiotics.  Because of the move by Tyson and others, much publicity and praise from consumer groups.
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2. Associated Press. "Sierra Club Plans To Sue Chicken Farms Over Emissions" Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2002.

"There's really no science to support it"

The Sierra Club is taking steps to sue four western Kentucky chicken farms, all contracted by Tyson Foods Inc.  The Sierra Club is likening the farms to factories that pollute and are regulated by the government.  The lawsuit can come only after notices are served to Tyson and the farms.  The farms can maintain up to 600,000 chickens and would be cited as violating the federal Superfund law, the Clean Air Act and the Community-Right-To-Know Act due to their extreme amounts of ammonia and dust pollutants.  A spokesman for Tyson has stated that there have been no studies to scientifically measure the ammonia, and later went on to state that ammonia is naturally released from fertilizer.

The claims also point out that the farms emit more than 100 pounds of ammonia per day--enough to require a permit under the federal Superfund law.  The objective of the suit is to force Tyson to release a report of the hazardous substances, so those in neighboring areas know what's in their air.
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3.  Associated Press. "Tyson Foods Says US Govt Wants To Try It Twice" Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2002.

According to papers filed by Tyson Foods, federal prosecutors want to put Tyson on trial twice regarding an earlier immigration case.  Tyson was on probation for an earlier 1998 case of influence-peddling allegations that was settled out of court.  Tyson filed the papers in response to a government request for a hearing to determine if they violated their probation.  "Simply put, the prosecutors have made clear that the principal purpose for returning the Tennessee indictment ... was to use this court's process as additional pressure on Tyson to pay a 'record' settlement in the (U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service) case," the company said in the filing.

The INS case stems from a Jan. 24th pleading in which charges of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants to work for Tyson were dealt out, the six former managers plead not guilty.  Tyson has made claims that the trial set for early 2003 won't show conspiring by the company, rather show that the government spent three years working undercover to bring in about 50 undocumented workers into Tyson plants.
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4. Staff reporter. "Tyson Foods Reports Huge Jump in Profit For Its First Period" Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2002: B11.

Tyson foods said its fiscal first-quarter net income more than quadrupled.  Due largely in part to its acquisition of IBP Inc. and stronger chicken sales.  After an unsuccessful attempt to back out of its acquisition of IBP, this is the first full quarter to include IBP's pork and beef revenue.  Last year net income was $27 million compared to a now $126.9 million.  Chicken sales, Tyson's core business  prior to IBP increased 7% alone, increasing from $1.66 billion to $1.77.  Tyson originally warned that its second quarters earnings would trail expectations, but then boosted its full-year outlook due largely to summer earnings, when more people grill and eat out.  The company expects to earn $1.10 to $1.20 a share in the fiscal year ending Sept. 28, 15 cents higher than it gave last November.
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5. Gillies, Andrew T.  "When employees love their company's stock." Forbes.com, January 7,2002. 

Insiders at Tyson Foods have purchased 37,000 shares of their company versus insider sales of 3,500 shares.  Prudential Securities equities analyst John McMillin says the net buying reflects positively for the chicken giant while they are in plans to acquire beef processor IBP.  Wall Street however does not share the same optimism.  Tyson's stock currently sits at $11 (see ticker for up to the minute price), not much above book value and well off of its five-year peak of $26.  Timothy Drake, analyst with Banc One Investment Advisors predicts that poultry prices will rise, helping to push Tyson's earnings to $1 a share in fiscal 2002, up over 50% from its fiscal year ended September 40 cents.
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6. Dukcevich, Davide. "Faces In The News: Jan. 3, 2002" Forbes.com, January 3, 2002. 
 

Chief Executive Office John Tyson got a meaty bonus this year, to the tune of $2.1 million.  It has been a tough year for Tyson Foods, so the company decided to reward him..  In June Tyson was ordered by a Delaware judge Tyson to go through with a $3.2 billion acquisition of beef and pork producer IBP.  Originally Tyson had tried to back out of the purchase, citing breaches of the takeover contract.  On top of this federal indictments in Tennessee accused Tyson of smuggling illegal labor to work at their U.S. plants.  To explain the bonus, Tyson stated that the acquisition of IBP had made them the 'world's largest protein provider' and in turn warranted a bonus larger than that determined by the senior executive performance bonus plan.  CEO John Tyson did not receive a bonus last year.
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7. Lewis, Mark. "Tyson Makes Silk Purse From Sow's Ear" Forbes.com, November 12, 2001.

2001 was a good year for Tyson Food investors, who feasted on the meat firm's quarterly results.  Tyson posted higher revenues and earnings for the last quarter, even though the overall economy shrank.  Improvements for fiscal 2002 are also being promised.  Credited higher chicken prices and new acquisition IBP, whose beef-and-pork performance was much higher than expected.  In a somewhat ironic twist, Tyson tried to back out of the acquisition, but was later forced by a judge to stand by its offer.  Together with IBP Tyson is the world's largest meat company with $25 billion in annual revenues.  "We accomplished many things in a difficult year and made improvements in our chicken product mix to position us well for the future," Chief Executive John Tyson said in a statement. "We successfully completed the acquisition of IBP that has transformed us into the world's leading protein company--and the integration is proceeding smoothly." 
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8.  Kilman, Scott. "Meat Industry Launches Campaign
To Turn Products Into Brand Names" Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2002.

Meatpackers are in a frenzied hurry to turn their once anonymous products into household names.  Hormel Foods Corp., IBP Inc. and Farmland Industries Inc., as well as others are in a full scale war to sell prepackaged steaks, chops and roasts under their respective names.  IBP Inc. was acquired last year by Tyson Foods Inc. and is now in a back and forth Coke and Pepsi style duke out to bring red meat into homes.  Much as Tyson did with chicken, these companies have spent millions to create new meat products that don't take hours to cook.  Starting about the same time that women started to enter the work force, meat demand has dropped 41%.  Lack of time and quality of earlier products, these new microwaveable meats are aimed to bring back a 1950's tradition; family dinner time.
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9.  Buckman Rebecca. "Hormel Foods Corp., Net Income Advances 21% With Strong Jennie-O Sales"  Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2002: B6.

Hormel Foods Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter profit rose 21% as sales of its Jennie-O Turkey brand products helped profits.  Based in Austin, Minn., Hormel markets consumer-branded meat  and food products.  Net income was up 36 cents a share up to $50.4 million, up from $41.5 million a year earlier.  These latest results matched the estimates of four analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.  Sales rose 10% with help from a rise in grocery product sales and refrigerated food sales.  Jennie-O Turkey sales jumped 54% alone.  The company remains "optimistic" about meeting their financial objections for the rest of the year, they did not offer any specific projections however.
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10.  Dow Jones Newswire. "Kraft's Net Rose 32% in Fourth Quarter On Sales Gains FRom Nabisco Integration"  Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2002:B11.

"The integration of Nabisco continues to progress smoothly and is ahead of our business plan."

Kraft Foods Inc. posted a 32% increase in fourth-quarter net income due to sales growth from the integration of Nabisco Holding Corp.'s business.  The packaged-foods company's share rose 32 cents a share leading to a net income of $548 million., up from $415 million a year earlier.  A strong increase in earnings was driven by volume growth across most of their businesses.  Significantly productivity and synergy savings and lower interest expense.  Volume increases of 5% for Kraft Foods North America was led by a 14% increase in beverage, dessert, and cereal segments.  Successful new launches of products such as ready-to-drink beverages, along with a growth in cereal and coffee combined to boost the segment's volume.  international volume increase's of 5.9% were led by "strong momentum" in central and eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Asian Pacific region.
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11. Millman, Joel. "U.S. Candy Makers Go to Mexico,
Changing the Face of the Industry"  Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2002.

Ever since the North American Free Trade Agreement, domestic companies have been looking to outsource labor to save on costs.  Mexico was one of these places and it has now attracted top U.S. candy makers looking for among cheap labor, cheap sugar and a youthful market with a a sweet tooth.  All of the three top manufacturers--Mars Inc., Tootsie Roll Industries Inc., and Hershey Foods Corp. -- have plants in Mexico. 

The big draw of Mexico is its cheap labor force, where workers earn as little as one-tenth of U.S.  workers.  But an even bigger draw is sugar.  Manufacturers pay the world rate for sugar in foreign countries, almost half of federally supported U.S. cost.  Yet with all the jobs leaving the U.S., candy exports to Mexico and Canada are growing.  The reasoning behind this is the concentration on higher-value products like gourmet chocolates.
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12. Bary, Andrew. "Chew on This: Wrigley Isn't Cheap"  Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2002.

Wrigley gum is a dominate player in the chewing-gum business with a estimated 50% market share.  With a new chief executive, Bill  Wrigley Jr., they have undergone a revival.  In the past year their stock has jumped one-fifth up to $54, just below its record of $55.43 with anticipation for more good news.  Way above projections, Wrigley commands a big premium to other food companies such as Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg, and Hershey.  With the new chief executive at the helm, Wrigley has increased product innovation and rejuvenated old favorites such as Juicy Fruit and Doublemint.  With a clean balance sheet and no debt, Wrigley has made a presence in the food industry.
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13. Leung, Shirley. "Fast-Food Chains Upgrade Menus,
And Profits, With Pricey Sandwiches" Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2002.

For years fast food chains thrived on cheap, fast food.  Then along came Starbucks and turned the humble cup of coffee into a overpriced money maker.  This recent spark has led fast-food executives back to the drawing board for their own variant.  Lately, one of their trials has caught on; the sandwich.  Small restaurant chains with big ambitions have been racking up bigger sales by offering upscale sandwiches for easily twice the price of their old burger counterparts.  Making the jump from chicken nuggets to chicken Panini is not going to create an overnight success like Starbucks had.  The plethora of competitors in the market will make sure of that.  But the big names such as Panera and Cosi have already made their claim and offer ana upscale cafe style decor that should help them to become "part of the landscape of America".
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I learned quite a bit from this project.  When I selected Tyson Foods, I was not thinking like a manager.  Lo and Behold I was faced with the difficulty of a company that has nowhere near the same amount of articles such as Enron.  At first I thought I had no chance, but by doing research, talking to others, and a little common sense I was able to handle the situation.  I first thought that it was a big mistake and I should have chosen a different company.  However, later after consideration I realized that it was a good thing; they say you learn from your mistakes, I have.  By turning a problem into a solution I was better able to think like a manager.  I enjoyed this project, I didn't expect to learn as much as I did, and can now walk away witha a much better attitude and knowledge of a manager.