Ever hear this old expression, to indicate a totally unlikely event? Well damned, if pigs aren’t indeed flying high - on the proxy voting front!
More kudos to Liz Dunshee for reporting that activist investor Carl Icahn’s fight for the rights of pregnant pigs not to be confined to cramped “gestational pens” will move forward to votes at McDonalds - and at Kroger, where Icahn is putting two directors forward - including one who would be over-boarded if elected - in order to let pregnant pigs fly more freely. And oops! The NY Times reported another tasty tidbit in February - that Icahn has a majority ownership in pork-producer Viskase - where McDonald’s aptly noted in its response “it’s noteworthy that Mr. Icahn has not publicly called on Viskase to adopt commitments similar to those of McDonald’s 2012 commitments.”
Liz also reported that the SEC denied a request for no-action relief from Wendy’s on a Humane Society proposal that requests the Company confirm the individual crate confinement of gestating pigs will be eliminated from its North American supply by the end of 2022. If the Company cannot so confirm, the proposal requests: 1) its percentage of gestation crate-free pork, and 2) risks the Company may face over the disparity between its gestation crate assurances and the use of crates beyond 2022. The company had sought exclusion under 14a-8(i)(7) (ordinary business) and 14a-8(i)(10) (substantial implementation).
And wow! As Liz also reported, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to a Ninth Circuit decision to uphold a California ballot initiative that banned sales of pork within the state when the pigs were born from confined sows.
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