Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN), Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD): Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Buried by Industry Beef

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The hope is that the hubbub surrounding Zilmax elicits enough concern among consumers that put pressure on other meat processors to follow the lead of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN), Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD), and Cargill and that they’ll start understanding what’s being done up and down the food chain. It’s not just Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and (NYSE:MRK) Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) fattening cattle and pigs, but Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta similarly altering the feed they’re fed — and, by extension, us, too. The genetic modification of seeds to withstand the application of powerful herbicides and still continue to grow is no less alarming to me than causing cattle to gain tens of pounds in weeks from a food additive.

Given the growing concern of these practices on human health, perhaps the landslide caused in the beef industry will trigger similar avalanches elsewhere.

The article Merck Buried by Industry Beef originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rich Duprey.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned, and neither does The Motley Fool.

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