PETA buys more shares in meat companies

Sunday, January 4, 2009

The vegans at People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) must find it hard to stomach spending more money to buy shares in companies that they detest – pork producer Smithfield and chicken-raising Tyson Foods. But buy is what they must do if they are to continue to submit controversial resolutions at annual shareholder meetings of the food giants.

According to a press release from the animal rights organization, that's because federal regulations in the United States require a shareholder to own at least $2,000 worth of a company's stock throughout the previous year in order to introduce a resolution at a shareholder meeting.

Stocks are going down in both those companies, as well as in Pilgrim's Pride (which is near bankruptcy) along with Domino's Pizza, California Pizza Kitchen and Ingles Markets; all companies that PETA has targeted. PETA claims that its resolutions have forced companies to enact policies that force grocery chains Safeway and Harris Teeter to buy birds from suppliers "that use a less cruel form of slaughter called controlled atmosphere killing." BF