Tyson takes lead with Zilmax ban, higher beef prices may follow

Tyson takes lead with Zilmax ban, higher beef prices may follow

By Theopolis Waters CHICAGO (Reuters) - When top U.S. meat packer Tyson Foods Inc abruptly announced it would stop buying cattle fed with a widely used drug that can add more than 30 pounds to the average steer, the implications for markets were clear: less meat, higher prices. Tyson, which buys about one in four of all U.S. cattle for slaughter, says it will stop purchasing livestock with the growth additive Zilmax in order to protect the animal's welfare, a sign of the growing sway of animal rights activists. Some cattle appear to have had trouble walking with the added weight. ...