Carl Icahn takes on McDonald's over pig welfare

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is waging a proxy battle against McDonald's in an effort to pressure the fast food giant to switch to "crate-free" pork. 

The move comes as Icahn has been working with the Humane Society over the past several years to advocate for better treatment of pigs, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

"Animals are one of the things I feel really emotional about," he told the Journal. 

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McDonald's said in a news release on Sunday that Icahn has nominated Leslie Samuelrich and Maisie Ganzler to stand for election at the company's 2022 annual meeting.

"Mr. Icahn’s stated focus in making this nomination relates to a narrow issue regarding the Company’s pork commitment, which The Humane Society U.S. has already introduced through a shareholder proposal," McDonald's said. "This is an issue on which McDonald’s has been a leader."

In 2012, McDonald's announced a commitment to source pork from producers who do not use small crates for pregnant sows. The company said it expects to source 85% to 90% of its pork volumes from sows not housed in gestation crates during pregnancy by the end of 2022. By the end of 2024, it expects 100% of its U.S. pork to come from sows housed in groups during pregnancy.

"While the Company looks forward to promoting further collaboration across the industry on this issue, the current pork supply in the U.S. would make this type of commitment impossible," McDonald's said. "Furthermore, it reflects a departure from the veterinary science used for large-scale production throughout the industry, and would harm the Company’s shared pursuit of providing customers with high quality products at accessible prices."

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McDonald's said it will evaluate Samuelrich and Ganzler based on their ability to represent the interests of all company shareholders, their demonstrated knowledge of corporate governance matters applicable to U.S.-based multinational companies and their ability and willingness to devote specific time to board duties. 

Icahn, who has stated that he holds 200 shares of McDonald's stock, is the majority owner of Viskase, a packaging company for the pork and poultry industry. McDonald's questioned why Icahn has not publicly called on Viskase to adopt similar commitments.