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May 26, 2000
Shareholders Urge McDonalds to Go GE-Free
Fueled by concerns over health and environmental risks, shareholders ask the "Golden Arches" to
keep genetically engineered ingredients off the menu.
SocialFunds.com --
This year 24 food and agricultural product companies received shareholder resolutions on the issue
of genetically engineered (GE) food, making it the fastest growing corporate responsibility issue
in the history of shareholder activism. A resolution presented at McDonald's last week provides a
valuable example of how complex the GE issue is.
 McDonalds, the world's largest foodservice retailer with
25,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, has made some steps toward providing customers with
GE-free products. But some shareholders at their annual meeting last week in Rosemont, Illinois,
called on the fast food giant to eliminate GE-ingredients entirely until long-term safety testing
proves they are safe.
"No one can say with certainty that genetically engineered food is
safe to eat over the long-term," said Sarah Newport, coordinator of Friends of the Earth's "Safer
Food, Safer Farms" campaign. Friends of the Earth, a national environmental advocacy organization,
filed the GE shareholder resolution in partnership with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Catholic
Healthcare West, and Harrington Investments.
The resolution also calls for an interim step
of labeling products that contain genetically engineered ingredients. "McDonalds has a
responsibility to its shareholders," said Newport. "The company's reputation is at stake if it
doesn't respond to American consumers who are increasingly concerned about the risks posed by GE
food."
GE crops have been widely used in the last few years, hailed by many as the
biggest breakthrough in modern agriculture for boosting disease and insect resistance and
withstanding weed-killing herbicides. Last year one fourth of all cropland was planted with GE
crops, and 60 percent of what we buy in U.S. supermarkets contain some GE ingredients.
But
many scientists suggest that GE crops pose risks to human health, as allergens, toxins, or
carcinogens, as well as to the environment. Pollen from GE pest-resistant corn was shown to also
kill monarch butterfly caterpillars and other beneficial insects, raising fears that introducing GE
crops could cause irreversible disruption to ecosystems.
Concerns in the European Union
about the environmental and health risks of GE foods have preceded the growing awareness in the
U.S. The E.U. required mandatory labeling of foods including GE ingredients in 1998, and banned all
new GE crops until the implementation of a new safety law in 2002. Several of Europe's largest food
retailers and two European-owned multinationals, Unilever and Nestle, are removing GE ingredients
from their products sold in Europe.
Consumer concern about GE food is not new to
McDonalds, which has pledged to actively work with its suppliers to find non-GE sources of
ingredients for European franchises. Recently McDonalds has asked its major potato supplier in the
U.S. to grow non-GE potatoes for its famous French fries, illustrating their level of commitment on
the issue.
"While we applaud McDonalds' efforts to keep their fries GE-free, there is
still concern," said Newton. "They have not committed to keep genetically engineered milk out of
milkshakes, soy out of burgers, or corn sweetener out of soft drinks." A Consumer Reports article
last September found that McDonalds' veggie burgers tested positive for genetically engineered soy
content.
Company management's response to the McDonalds GE shareholder resolution was
noncommittal with regard to eliminating GE products, deferring instead to the market forces that
produce their ingredients and the agencies that regulate them. "We believe that the FDA and other
relevant governmental agencies with scientific expertise are the best decision makers in this
area," said their statement.
It remains to be seen how many shareholders support the
McDonalds GE resolution, but a similar resolution gained 8.2 percent support at Coca Cola and 5.6
percent support at Safeway. These votes are more than the 4 percent required to resubmit the
resolution next year, so clearly the issue of GE foods is not going to go away.
Other food
companies and supermarkets including Whole Foods, Gerber, Heinz, Seagram's, and Frito-Lay (Pepsico)
have all taken steps to remove GE ingredients from their product lines. With the active engagement
of shareholders, perhaps the home of the Big Mac can follow their example.
"If McDonalds
can steer clear of GE foods in Europe, they can do it here at home," said Newton. "American
customers aren't getting the same treatment as European customers when it comes to food safety."
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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