A shareholder activist group is calling on Hormel Foods to issue a report on the environmental and public health costs of antibiotic use in its meat and how those costs could impact the company, investors and global economy.
The Shareholder Commons, a Delaware-based nonprofit wrote in a filing this week, “The company must make decisions about how much to invest in fighting AMR (antimicrobial resistance).”
The group wants shareholders to vote for the proposal at Hormel’s annual meeting later this month, the Star Tribune reports.
The company’s board of directors is recommending a vote against the proposal as it would not be beneficial given the company’s “already robust antibiotic stewardship, continuous improvement and environmental sustainability efforts within our supply chain.”
Hormel issued its first Antibiotic Stewardship Report a year ago, but the Shareholder Commons says the report doesn’t go far enough in addressing “the costs Hormel externalizes or the risks it creates for the global economy through the use of animals treated with antibiotics.”
The Star Tribune points out that Hormel is among a growing list of companies experiencing environmental and social issues brought to a vote at annual shareholder meetings.
The Shareholder Commons brought up a similar antibiotic reporting proposal at McDonald’s annual meeting last year, earning the support of 11.2% of the votes cast. Meanwhile the group struck a deal with YUM! Brands – the parent corporation of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – that avoided a vote in exchange for a company report focused on antimicrobial resistance, the article said.
Hormel’s annual meeting will be held virtually on Jan. 25.
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