A month after setting his sights on McDonald’s over pig welfare, investor Carl Icahn has turned his attention to Kroger.
Icahn is planning to nominate two directors to the company’s board over the issue, the retailer said Tuesday. Shareholders will be able to vote for the nominees’ placement on the board at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Kroger has not yet set a date for that meeting.
In a statement, Kroger said that it “heard from Mr. Icahn for the first time on Friday … during this conversation, Mr. Icahn voiced his concerns regarding animal welfare and the use of gestation crates in pork production.” Gestation crates are tiny stalls where mother pigs are held, their movements severely restricted.
“While Kroger is not directly involved in raising or the processing of any animals, we are committed to helping protect the welfare of animals in our supply chain,” Kroger said in its statement, adding that it expects “all suppliers will have transitioned away from gestation crates by 2025.”
Kroger (KR) added that it will review Icahn’s nominees, Alexis C. Fox and Margarita Paláu-Hernández, and offer recommendations on how shareholders should vote in its proxy statement.