TYSON FOODS, INC. | Disclose Lobbying Policy and Procedures, Expenditures and Acivities at Tyson Foods, Inc.

Status
17.94% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
6
Resolution details
Company ticker
TSN
Lead filer
Undisclosed filer
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Staples
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Resolved, the shareholders of Tyson request the preparation of a report, updated annually, disclosing the following:

1.Company policy and procedures governing lobbying, both direct and indirect, and grassroots lobbying communications;

2.Payments by Tyson used for (a) direct or indirect lobbying or (b) grassroots lobbying communications, in each case including the amount of the payment and the recipient;

3.Tyson's membership in and payments to any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation; and,

4.Description of the decision-making process and oversight by management and the Board for making payments described in sections 2 and 3 above.

For purposes of this proposal, a "grassroots lobbying communication" is a communication directed to the general public that (a) refers to specific legislation or regulation, (b) reflects a view on the legislation or regulation, and (c) encourages the recipient of the communication to take action with respect to the legislation or regulation. "Indirect lobbying" is lobbying engaged in by a trade association or other organization of which Tyson is a member.

Both "direct and indirect lobbying" and "grassroots lobbying communications" include efforts at local, state and federal levels.

The report shall be presented to the Audit Committee or other relevant oversight committees and posted on Tyson's website.
Whereas clause
Whereas, we believe in full disclosure of our Company's direct and indirect lobbying activities and expenditures to assess whether Tyson Foods' ("Tyson") lobbying is consistent with Tyson's expressed goals and in the best interests of shareholders.
Supporting statement
We encourage transparency in Tyson's use of funds to lobby. Tyson spent over
$15.4 million on federal lobbying from 2010 - 2019. This excludes state lobbying expenditures, where Tyson also lobbies but disclosure is uneven or absent. Tyson has drawn attention for leading the "lobbying effort to have the meat industry labeled 'critical infrastructure'" as "slaughterhouses became coronavirus hot spots."1

Tyson serves on the board of the National Chicken Council (NCC) and belongs to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Unlike peer group members Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and PepsiCo, Tyson neither discloses memberships in, nor payments to trade associations and the amounts used for lobbying on its website.

We are concerned Tyson's lack of lobbying and trade association disclosure presents reputational risk. For example, Tyson states it is committed to protecting food safety and worker health and safety, yet the NCC lobbied to have the meat industry designated an essential industry2 while at least six Tyson workers died.3 The NCC also lobbied the USDA to increase line processing speeds that increase dangerous conditions for meatpacking workers, the majority of which are people of color.4 Tyson uses the Global Reporting Initiative for sustainability reporting, yet currently fails to report "any differences between its lobbying positions and any stated policies, goals, or other public positions" under Standard 415.

Approximately 60% of the independent shareholders voted for this proposal at the 2020 annual meeting.

We urge Tyson to expand its lobbying disclosure.

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