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WHEREAS:  Pesticides threaten farmer resiliency and productivity due to proliferation of pesticide-resistant weeds and insects, loss of topsoil, and soil degradation. Pesticides also threaten biodiversity, harming soil invertebrates, birds, and mammals. Soil consistently treated with pesticides loses its ability to store water and carbon, threatening resilience to climate change.

One third of every bite of food we eat is dependent on pollinators; and pollinator species are declining at alarming rates in significant part due to the use of toxic pesticides on farms. [1], [2] Pesticides also cause a number of serious human health effects, from cancers to neurological damage. [3], [4], [5]

In a 2021 investor scorecard on management of pesticide risks in agricultural supply chains, Post Holdings ranked last, scoring zero points. Our company has not disclosed if or how it tracks, reports, or reduces the use of synthetic pesticides in its agricultural supply chains, representing an important blind spot in risk management.

Other major food companies are taking action to reduce and report on pesticide risk:

• General Mills discloses metrics for tracking and reporting pesticide use by suppliers in its regenerative agriculture program, including type and name of input, amount and method used, cost and date of application, and pest or disease being controlled. It also reports pounds of pesticides avoided.

• Lamb Weston discloses average pesticide use data across its potato supply chains (reported in pounds of active ingredient use per ton of potatoes grown.)

• Sysco reports annually on pesticide use avoided by suppliers using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) -- reporting 8.4 million pounds avoided in 2019.

• PepsiCo announced a 2030 goal to scale regenerative farming practices across 7 million acres, equivalent to its entire agricultural footprint.

• Kellogg’s incorporated pest management and pesticide use into its 2020 ingredient materiality assessment.

In a competitive marketplace that is increasingly demanding clean food and reduced stakeholder and environmental harm, understanding and tracking supplier use of pesticides reduces risk for shareholders and our company, while reducing harm to stakeholders.

BE IT RESOLVED:  Shareholders request that Post issue a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, explaining if and how the company is measuring the use in its agricultural supply chains of pesticides that cause harm to human health and the environment.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT:  While metrics are left to management discretion, shareholders recommend the company measure and disclose the following:

• Type and amount of pesticides avoided annually through strategies such as regenerative agriculture programs, integrated pest management, or other methods;

• Priority pesticides for reduction or elimination;

• Targets and timelines, if any, for pesticide reduction.

[1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/insect-apocalypse-under-way-toxic-pesticides-agriculture

[2] https://xerces.org/pesticides/risks-pesticides-pollinators

[3] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01092.x

[4] https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.25.101802.123020#_i34

[5] https://www.aaas.org/news/linda-s-birnbaum-researchers-find-new-risks-low-dose-chemical-exposure

Resolution Details

Company: Post Holdings Inc

Lead Filers:
As You Sow

Year: 2023

Filing Date: 
August 2022

Initiative(s): Pesticides

Status: Resolution Withdrawn, Agreement Reached

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