Pigs In A Proxy Fight

Wall Street legend Carl Icahn has a pet cause: bullying McDonald’s until it stops torturing pigs. Back in 2012, Icahn urged the company to stop buying pork by 2022 from producers who use gestation crates, cruel metal cages in which pregnant sows are confined. Ten years on, McDonald’s has not adequately followed through on its pledge, says Icahn.

Icahn, a high-profile corporate raider in the 1980s and later one of the first “activist shareholders,” has launched a proxy fight for two seats on McDonald’s board of directors in an effort to end the gestation-crates once and for all. Influenced by his animal-loving daughter, Icahn has nominated two pig-friendly allies to stand for election at the fast food giant’s 2022 annual meeting.

For its part, McDonald’s pointedly noted that Icahn is a majority shareholder in Viskase, a packaging company in the pork and poultry industry. “[I]t's noteworthy that Mr. Icahn has not publicly called on Viskase to adopt commitments similar to those of McDonald's…” the company tut-tutted. McDonald’s further signaled its view of crate-free production by insisting “the current pork supply in the U.S. would make this type of commitment impossible.” Giving pigs space to turn around is not good for business!

McDonald’s yearly purchasing accounts for about one percent of US pork production, or roughly 115 million hogs. That’s a lot of Bacon McDouble Cheeseburgers, Sausage McMuffins, and McRib sandwiches. In the end McDonald’s will act according to what it considers the best interests of its shareholders. That seems unlikely to help pigs.

Photo credit: AFP