I contacted PETA about a week ago after reading this article (http://bit.ly/aHrbhw) after hearing about it on an episode of Vegan Freak (great podcast, BTW). I said the like of "why does PETA own stock in meat producing companies like Tyson, one of the worst animal abusers in the meat industry? When Tyson pays dividends, doesn't that mean you profit from whatever practices that business uses, regardless of the level of cruelty?"
Today, I got a response from Joey of peta2:
Quote:
Hey Winn,
Thank you for contacting PETA about purchasing stock in companies that engage in practices that involve cruelty to animals.
“Common stock” is a type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation’s assets and earnings. A company doesn’t technically “make money” if you purchase its common stock, but buying stock could drive up the market price. If a firm issues more stock in the future at a higher market price, it will raise more money from the issuance.
Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholder meetings and to receive dividends that the company has declared. Since you are an “owner” of the company, you may be able to affect the company’s practices by voting at shareholder meetings. Some investors deliberately buy the stock of companies that engage in cruel practices so that they will have the opportunity to speak at shareholder meetings and submit shareholder resolutions seeking reform. We applaud this activism in behalf of animals.
Given the complexity of these sorts of financial matters, we encourage you to discuss them more fully with a qualified investment adviser. We appreciate your interest in investing as a way to help animals; for more details, please go to http://www.PETA.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/cruelty-free-investments.aspx and http://prime.PETA.org/category/money.
To learn more about PETA’s many victories for animals, please visit http://www.PETA.org/about/victories/default.aspx, and for more ways you can get active for animals, please go to http://www.PETA.org/action/default.aspx.
Sincerely,
Joey
Street Team Coordinator, peta2
Thank you for contacting PETA about purchasing stock in companies that engage in practices that involve cruelty to animals.
“Common stock” is a type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation’s assets and earnings. A company doesn’t technically “make money” if you purchase its common stock, but buying stock could drive up the market price. If a firm issues more stock in the future at a higher market price, it will raise more money from the issuance.
Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholder meetings and to receive dividends that the company has declared. Since you are an “owner” of the company, you may be able to affect the company’s practices by voting at shareholder meetings. Some investors deliberately buy the stock of companies that engage in cruel practices so that they will have the opportunity to speak at shareholder meetings and submit shareholder resolutions seeking reform. We applaud this activism in behalf of animals.
Given the complexity of these sorts of financial matters, we encourage you to discuss them more fully with a qualified investment adviser. We appreciate your interest in investing as a way to help animals; for more details, please go to http://www.PETA.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/cruelty-free-investments.aspx and http://prime.PETA.org/category/money.
To learn more about PETA’s many victories for animals, please visit http://www.PETA.org/about/victories/default.aspx, and for more ways you can get active for animals, please go to http://www.PETA.org/action/default.aspx.
Sincerely,
Joey
Street Team Coordinator, peta2
What are your thoughts?
