Hormel Foods* Reverses Opposition to California Animal Welfare Law, Following Green Century Engagement
Press Release Contact: Kyle W. Kempf, Green Century Capital Management, kkempf@greencentury.com, (617) 482-0800
Boston, November 12, 2020 – Green Century° has successfully engaged Hormel Foods to improve its animal welfare practices. Hormel, one of the largest meat producers in the U.S., recently announced that it will comply with California Proposition 12, which prohibits the extreme confinement of hens and pigs for eggs and pork produced or sold statewide.
“Gestation crates are inhumane and their continued use would have posed significant reputational and business risks to Hormel, so I am relieved it is preparing to meet the consumer demand for more humanely-raised animal products,” said Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich. “I hope this is the last we hear of this cruel practice.”
In November 2018, nearly two-thirds of California voters supported Prop 12, which set a minimum space requirement for livestock raised in California and banned the sale of products derived from animals raised in environments that do not meet those requirements, no matter their origin.
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI), an industry trade group of which Hormel is a member, sued California last year in an effort to stop Prop 12 from going into effect. Hormel filed a court declaration in support of this opposition.
Following Green Century’s engagement with shareholders, Hormel recently released a public statement declaring its intention to be fully compliant with the law when it goes into effect.
Green Century has been working to eliminate the use of gestation crates in animal supply chains since 2014, when we filed a shareholder resolution with Tyson Foods.* In recognition of the risks associated with gestation crates, including their impact on animal welfare, dozens of companies, including McDonald’s,* already had committed to phasing out their use.
A Ninth Circuit Court three-judge panel upheld Prop 12, rejecting NAMI’s request for a preliminary injunction, a week after Hormel announced it will comply.
The law is slated to go into effect on January 1, 2022.
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About Green Century Capital Management
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the United States. Green Century Capital Management hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of September 30, 2020, Hormel Foods Corporation comprised 0.00%, 0.09%, and 0.00%, Tyson Foods, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.00%, and 0.00%, and McDonald’s Corporation comprised 0.00%, 1.07%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
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