McDonald’s has issued a report in response to a shareholder resolution filed by Real Assets, disclosing its activities to promote healthier products, active life styles and nutritional information.

Deb Abbey, President of Real Assets Investment Management, announced April 14 that the fast food company issued the report after her company issued a shareholder proposal on the matter.

“Instead of beating around the bush, we went straight to the top of the “fast-food chain” and asked McDonald’s to report to investors on the policies, plans and strategies to address this major health issue,” Abbey said. “Rather than sending an army of lawyers to fight our proposal, McDonald’s agreed to put together a committee of independent board members to review and report on the company’s response to this important issue.”

Real Assets said that obesity is both an emerging risk to shareholder value and an emerging business opportunity to drive share value. It cited statistics showing that 15 per cent of Canadians and 21 per cent of Americans are obese and has been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, gallbladder disease and cancer.

Real Assets said that companies that produce high calorie fast food need to modify their business models if they want to remain viable and continue to return value to their shareholders.

“The high level response to shareholder concerns and the willingness to publicly disclose board diligence on this issue demonstrates good governance and forward thinking,” Abbey said.  “This corporation is working to enhance shareholder value, meet the expectations of its customers, and address society’s concerns. While there is always room for improvement on the overall social impact of McDonald’s, they deserve credit for not ducking this issue and responding appropriately to the concerns of their shareholders.”

The McDonald’s report is available at htttp://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/invest/gov/corporate_responsibility.html.

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