Activist Shareholders Set Their Sights on Pesticide Use

Most large U.S. food companies are doing little or nothing to reduce pesticide use in their supply chains, according to a recent report.

San Francisco-based shareholder advocacy group As You Sow rated 14 major food companies on what—if anything—they’re doing to address the potential impact of pesticides in their supply chains.

It found that only three of the 14 companies studied—General Mills Inc., PepsiCo Inc., and Del Monte—claim to even be trying to reduce the use of man-made pesticides on crops they buy or food they produce.

“Many of these same companies are taking steps to address sustainability in other areas of their agricultural supply chain, with things like water, or energy use,” Christy Spees, director of As You Sow’s Environmental Health Program, said of big U.S. food companies. “But they’re not looking at pesticides.” Read Full Article - Bloomberg, January 28, 2019