Britain’s largest asset manager leads shareholder revolt at McDonald’s over continued ‘overuse’ of antibiotics in fast food giant’s meat production
Britain’s largest asset manager is leading a shareholder revolt at McDonald’s over the fast food giant’s continued “overuse” of antibiotics in its mass production of meat.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) will hold the burger chain accountable at its annual meeting next week. It has tabled a motion on the subject and will urge the World Health Organization to adopt World Health Organization rules on the use of the drugs throughout the supply chain.
LGIM, a top 20 shareholder of McDonald’s, fears that overuse of antibiotics in industrial agriculture is fueling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the emergence of drug-resistant superbugs in humans.
AMR is estimated to kill more than a million people each year and could cause £800 billion in economic damage by 2050.
“Without coordinated action now, AMR could lead to the next global health crisis,” said Maria Ortino, senior manager at LGIM.
Concern: LGIM fears that overuse of antibiotics in industrial agriculture is fueling antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of drug-resistant superbugs in humans
“Failure to respond appropriately to AMR could result in far greater risks – to our customers, society and the global economy – than the individual operating costs that McDonald’s would incur by addressing this issue,” she added.
McDonald’s is one of the largest consumers of beef in the world. In 2018, it pledged to reduce the amount of antibiotics in all beef sold in its 40,000 restaurants worldwide.
But campaigners say the company has failed to disclose details of reduction targets by the end of 2020 as it had promised.
The LGIM resolution states: ‘McDonald’s has downplayed its commitments to antibiotic use in its more recent statements and recently reneged on its commitment to abandoning its reduction targets altogether.
“As companies like McDonald’s overuse antibiotics and exacerbate AMR, the efficacy of these life-saving drugs is being compromised, putting the entire economy at risk,” it added.
The proposal is backed by Amundi, Europe’s largest pension fund, and Hesta, an Australian ‘super fund’, which together manage assets in excess of £2.8 trillion.
It is the third consecutive year that McDonald’s, which operates some 1,270 restaurants in the UK, has faced irate shareholders over the issue.
However, previous investor challenges received only limited support.
Campaigners were dealt a blow last week when influential proxy voting consultancy Institutional Shareholder Services, which advises investors on how to vote, recommended opposing the LGIM proposal.
McDonald’s is also facing a separate resolution — led by a group of Benedictine nuns in Texas — to completely phase out the use of all antibiotics in its beef and pork supply chains.
McDonald’s says it accepts that AMR is “a critical global public health problem” that it, along with its suppliers, has “a responsibility to help address.” But it rejects both motions, arguing it has “a strong track record of responsible antibiotic use.”
The company says its policy “does not allow the routine use of medically important antibiotics for … growth promotion or the customary use of antibiotics for disease prevention.”