Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn is threatening to kick off a proxy fight with McDonald's to end the use of gestation crates for pregnant pigs in its supply chain.
Icahn said he's prepared to shake up the company's board of directors if McDonald's does not improve its practices.
The fast-food vowed to order suppliers to do away with gestation crates in 2012 but has so far not complied with its announcement.
Gestation crates, or sow stalls, are small, metal enclosures where pregnant sows are confined.
The pork industry has defended the crates as a necessary measure to boost productivity and prevent the pigs from fighting.
