Shareholder Support for Green Century’s Antibiotic Use Shareholder Proposal at Darden Restaurants* Increases from Previous Year
Contact: Marissa LaFave, Green Century Capital Management, mlafave@greencentury.com, (617) 482-0800
ORLANDO, September 27, 2017 – At its annual shareholder meeting last week, Darden Restaurants, Inc.* (NYSE: DRI), the largest casual dining operator in the U.S. and Canada and owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse faced pressure from shareholders for a second year in a row to reduce the use of human antibiotics in its meat supply chain.
This year, support for Green Century’s proposal increased, illustrating increased concern among Darden’s shareholders.
Darden currently allows for the use of human antibiotics for the prevention of disease, rather than solely for the treatment of disease, in its supply chain. This policy lags major industry players including McDonald’s,* KFC,* Chipotle,* Panera,* and Tyson Foods,* among many others.
Darden’s inadequate antibiotic use policy has drawn significant criticism, NGO campaigns, and negative coverage in publications including The Guardian and The LA Times.
Green Century’s proposal asks that the Company eliminate routine uses of antibiotics important to human medicine from its supply chain. It focuses on the mitigation of business risks related to changing consumer preferences, reputational damage, competitive pressure, and strengthening regulation.
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture threatens the efficacy of the antibiotics we rely on in our day-today lives, feeding directly into the global antibiotic resistance crisis that is expected to kill 300 million people by 2050.
More information about Green Century’s proposal and the case behind why Darden should implement an antibiotic use policy can be found in Green Century’s briefing memo.
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About Green Century Capital Management: Green Century offers three environmentally and socially responsible mutual funds. Through fossil fuel free investing and our three-pronged approach of sustainable investing, active shareholder advocacy, and support of environmental and public health non-profits, we work to curb climate change, improve environmental policies, and limit environmental impacts of company supply chains.
*As of June 30, 2017, Darden Restaurants, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.00%, and 0.13%, McDonald’s Corporation comprised 0.00%, 0.00% and 1.42%, and Panera Bread Company comprised 0.00%, 0.42% and 0.00% of the Green Century Green Century MSCI International Index Fund, the Green Century Balanced Fund, and the Green Century Equity Fund, respectively. Other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds as of the same date. 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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The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 9/17
