Investors are looking for safe haven assets to protect their portfolios in this highly volatile economy.The persistent slump in oil price, slide in bank stocks, global growth issues and uncertainty about the timing of a Fed rate hike are weighing on investors’ sentiment.That being said, Tyson Foods Inc. TSN, with a market cap of $26.5 billion, might be an intriguing investment choice right now. The Springdale, AR-based company also enjoys strong growth potential.Why Tyson is a Good ChoiceImpressive VGM Score: Tyson carries a VGM score of A. Here “V” stands for Value, “G” for Growth and “M” for Momentum and the score is the weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM score.Tyson fares well in the style score system too, with a Growth score of A and both Value and Momentum score of B.Favorable Rank and Rising Estimates: Tyson, a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock, has had a good run so far this year, gaining around 27.1% in price. Over the past 60 days, analysts have become increasingly bullish about the company, with all the 3 estimate revisions moving north for fiscal 2016 earnings.Solid Quarterly Results and Positive Outlook: Tyson posted impressive first-quarter fiscal 2016 results in February with earnings of $1.15 surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a massive 98.6%. In fact, the company has a positive average surprise of 2.84% over the four trailing quarters.Strong Growth Potential for Future: Tyson Foods’ earnings are poised to grow 25.3% in 2016 and 8.2% in 2017.Regular Dividend Payment: Tyson has been consistently paying dividends. The leading food processor announced a 50% dividend hike to 15 cents per share in Nov 2015. The company also expects to raise the annual dividend beginning fiscal 2017 by 10 cents per year.Management has been raising the dividend consistently for the last five years at an average annual rate of 11.5%.Product and Geographic Diversity: Tyson offers a wide array of meat products and commands a strong presence in beef, pork, chicken and processed food products categories. This acts as a buffer to the company’s sales and margins — if one category fails, the other can recover. Similarly, the company has a vast geographical presence across North America, Canada, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Russia, which helps it to maintain sales and margins.ConclusionConsumer staples stocks act as safe haven for investors. Since the sector is non-cyclical in nature, it can endure the stock market upheaval and perform well backed by innovation, product extensions, prudent acquisitions and cost cuts. Further, significant oil savings that improved consumer spending as well as the labor market also lent support to the consumer segment.Other stocks in the food and meat processing sector worth considering are Hormel Foods Corporation HRL. Pilgrims Pride Corporation PPC and Sanderson Farms Inc. SAFM. While Hormel Foods and Pilgrims Pride sport the same Zacks Rank as Tyson, Sanderson Farms carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report TYSON FOODS A (TSN): Free Stock Analysis Report HORMEL FOODS CP (HRL): Free Stock Analysis Report SANDERSON FARMS (SAFM): Free Stock Analysis Report PILGRIMS PRIDE (PPC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research