Billionaire Carl Icahn, who had hoped to shake up McDonald’s board to improve treatment of pregnant pigs, was defeated in a vote.
Only 1% of shareholders voted for the nominees proposed by Mr. Icahn, an investor in the company.
McDonald’s had fought Mr Icahn’s claims, saying they were unreasonable.
The billionaire said he was persuaded to take on McDonald’s by his daughter, an animal lover who worked for the Humane Society.
Activist investors like Mr. Icahn — one of a few feared corporate predators said to be the inspiration for Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street — typically focus their efforts on companies they believe need restructuring.
But in a public letter last month, the 86-year-old wrote: “At this point in my career, I consider it my responsibility to engage constructively to help right glaring injustices perpetrated by many ineffective boards and management teams in the industry.” America’s top public corporations are maintained.”
Mr. Icahn bought about $50,000 worth of stock, urging the company to honor its 2012 promise, among other things, to stop ordering pork from suppliers who put pregnant pigs in small boxes.
McDonald’s has said it has been pushing the industry to change since its 2012 pledge. The company expects to source 85% to 90% of its pork from these suppliers by the end of the year, and by 2024, all of the pork it buys will come from these suppliers.
It urged shareholders in a letter earlier this month to reject its nominees.
“Mr. Icahn is using a narrow issue and one on which we have shown industry-leading progress – McDonald’s 2012 pork commitment – as a reason to change the way McDonald’s sources pork in the US and the number of meat-based products on ours Reduce menu,” the company announced.
A change would entail “unacceptable financial burdens for our customers”.
The results of the vote were preliminary and awaited a final count. The company did not share the outcome of votes on other shareholder proposals, such as one seeking a racial justice check.
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