SPRINGDALE, Ark.– Tyson Foods, Inc. recently announced Dr. Dean Danilson, vice president, Animal Well-Being Programs and Technology, is retiring after 26 years with company. Dr. Christine Daugherty was selected to fill the post.

In his role, Danilson oversaw Tyson FarmCheck program, which includes third-party, on-farm animal well-being audits, working with an external Animal Well-Being Advisory Panel. He also served as vice president of Food Safety & Quality Control. Along with those duties, Daugherty will be responsible for managing Tyson's animal well-being staff as well as animal handling training and audits at the company's processing plants. 

Dr. Christine Daugherty

“Chris has been involved in Tyson Foods’ animal well-being efforts over the past 11 years through the science, research and legal roles she’s had with the company,” said Mike Roetzel, group vice president-Operation Services. “I believe her education, experience, and leadership skills make her an excellent choice for this important job. In addition, her knowledge of cutting-edge technologies will help us further explore new and unique animal well-being innovations.”

Daugherty joined Tyson Foods in 2003 as an attorney, providing counsel in areas such as animal welfare, research and development, intellectual property and food safety. In 2011, she was promoted to director of intellectual property and technology development. Two years later, she was appointed to chief technology officer for Cobb-Vantress, a Tyson Foods poultry breeding business.

Daugherty is an internal committee member for the FarmCheck program and serves as executive committee member of the Cobb-Vantress Animal Welfare advisory program. She also serves on the US Poultry Foundation Research Advisory Committee that funds research projects that benefit the poultry and egg industry.

Daugherty has a Ph.D. in life sciences from Louisiana State Univ. and a J.D. from the Univ. of Arkansas. She also has a master’s degree from Iowa State Univ. and a bachelor’s degree from Central College of Iowa. Before joining Tyson Foods, she worked as a patent and trademark attorney for a northwest Arkansas law firm and was a research scientist at the Univ. of Florida.