Organization: Seaboard Corp

Year: 2015

Resolved: Resolved: That shareholders request that the Board of Directors disclose the financial and operational risks to which Seaboard's indefinite use of pig gestation confinement crates throughout its supply system may be exposing the Company and its investors. The disclosure should be made within six months of the 2015 annual meeting at a reasonable cost and omit proprietary information.

Supporting Statement:Supporting Statement: This proposal seeks increased transparency-to help shareholders better understand Seaboard's ability to meet changing marketplace demands and remain on-par with its competitors. Here are the basic facts: - Seaboard confines-and allows suppliers to confine-breeding sows in gestation crates (cages so small and restrictive, the animals can't even turn around). - Over 60 of the world's largest food retailers (McDonald's, Costco, Kroger, Oscar Mayer and dozens more) have announced policies to eliminate from their supply chains pork produced using these crates. - Nine states and dozens of countries have outlawed the use of these crates. - Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) notes that "if gestation crates are not part of the lingua franca of most investors, long term risk certainly is." - GlassLewis found that "Gestation crates could place companies at a financial disadvantage from an operational perspective." Yet Seaboard has neither disclosed plans for moving away from these crates nor the risks such a lack of plans may present to investors. Top competitors, however, are taking action: - Smithfield Foods has disclosed timelines for moving both its company-owned and contracted operations away from gestation crates. - Tyson Foods has advised the contract farmers in its system that "future sow housing" should allow animals to turn around and engage in other behaviors precluded by gestation crates. - Cargill recently announced that it will eliminate gestation crates at its company-owned and contractor-owned operations by 2015 and 2017 (respectively). As Cargill stated in making that announcement, "If you want to be a viable supplier, you respond to the signals your customers send." - Clemens Food Group (aka Hatfield Quality Meats) has publicly placed a firm timeline for eliminating 100% of the gestation crates that exist in its supply system-whether at company-owned facilities, contracted facilities, or facilities owned and operated by independent farmers. In sum, Seaboard uses a practice-with apparently no plans to shift away from it-that's increasingly being legislated against, banned from supply chains by dozens of the world's largest food retailers, and phased out by some of the largest pork companies.while providing no disclosure on the risks associated with that policy. Therefore, shareholders are encouraged to vote FOR this proposal, which seeks disclosure around risks to which Seaboard may be exposing its investors. Shareholders deserve to understand the risks that may endanger them as a result of Seaboard's policies on this issue; this proposal would help provide such transparency. Thank you.