A Sanderson Farms Inc. shareholder proposal requesting that the third-largest U.S. poultry producer phase out the use of medically important antibiotics for disease prevention failed to pass on Thursday, the company said, according to a report from Reuters.
The proposal received the support of 43 percent of votes cast at the company’s annual meeting on February 15, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The measure had 10,570,693 votes opposing the stockholder proposal, and 8,015,222 votes in favor. A similar proposal last year received the support of 30 percent of votes.
Sanderson had urged investors to vote “no” on the proposal filed by the not-profits As you Sow and supported by Oxfam America.
Sanderson Farms has said previously that it has a plan in eliminate antibiotic use if it is in the company’s best interest.
