Billionaire Carl Icon has stepped up his fight with McDonald over the safety of pigs used in the famous chain.
Icon, who has a reputation for corporate transformation that has made him a legend in the popular Wall Street financial district, wants to put two people on McDonald’s board of directors.
McDonald’s owns only 200 shares in Icon, but is said to have been pushed into this position by his animal welfare daughter, which motivated him to act on the change.
McDonald’s claims to have led to improved animal health. War centers that focus on allegations that pregnant female pigs are kept in small boxes are a practice known as “abusive.”
McDonald says he has not fulfilled a decade-long promise to stop buying pork from suppliers who use Todd Grates – special containers in which pregnant pigs are kept for life, so they cannot move.
Icon demanded that all pork suppliers to McDonald’s in the United States switch from the women who were not placed in these boxes to the pork, according to the timetable he had set.
The company said in a statement that some improvements have already been made to pork suppliers. It promises to deliver 85-90% of American pork from non-boxed pork by the end of this year and switch to completely “boxless” pork by the end of 2024.
A report from the fast food company says that the American billionaire proposed that Leslie Samuelrich and Mickey Kansler run in the election at the 2022 meeting.
Interested investors, such as Icahn, who is said to be modeled on Gordon Gecko in the 1987 Wall Street film, generally focus on companies that they think need to be restructured.
But he told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that his move to do something at McDonald’s came from his daughter, an animal lover who worked for the Animal Welfare Committee.
McDonald’s statement said, “It will continue to work to improve quality in this area, but some of Icahn’s demands are unreasonable.”
The restaurant chain also pointed out that Icon owns a majority stake in Viscose, a company that makes and supplies packaging products for the pork and poultry industry.
He said he did not “generally ask” Ficasas to make similar promises, and that Icon did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Icahn has a net worth of $ 16.8 billion as the owner and founder of Icahn Enterprises, according to Forbes.
Earlier, he had spent months advising former US President Donald Trump on regulatory reform before stepping down amid controversy.
McDonnell, a professor at the Singapore School of Business, told the BBC: “Mr Icon’s profile suggests that McDonald’s need to respond, even if his role is small.
“McDonald’s seems to be a little late in delivering this particular promise he made 10 years ago.
McDonald’s owns only about 1 percent of its pork production in the United States, and said it does not own pregnant female pigs or produce or pack pork in the country.
He said the board would evaluate ICAN candidates “just like any other candidate”.
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