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April 28, 2006

Kraft stockholders reject bid to cancel sponsorship of Gay Games

Kraft stockholders reject bid to cancel sponsorship of Gay Games

Kraft Foods and its shareholders decisively voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have revoked the company's sponsorship of the Gay Games in Chicago this summer. At its annual stockholders meeting, 99% of Kraft's investors rejected the move by fellow stockholder Marcella Meyer to "disassociate" from the eight-day sports event because of her opposition to homosexuality, Advertising Age reports.

Any shareholder can make such a proposal, called a proxy statement, which then must be voted on by all company investors, and many corporate gay rights supporters have used such a tactic to force companies to adopt gay-friendly policies over the years.

But Meyer, a Chicago doctor, sought to cancel the sponsorship because of her belief in a link between being gay and contracting sexually transmitted diseases, particularly HIV. She expressed her concern that Kraft would be legally liable in the case a Gay Games participant developed a "lethal illness" after the event.

Kraft has been under fire by conservatives, led by the American Family Association, for its support of the Gay Games, but the company has maintained its sponsorship despite the protests.

"Diversity makes us a stronger company and connects us with the diversity that exists among the consumers who buy our products," Marc Firestone, Kraft's executive vice president/corporate counsel and corporate secretary, wrote in a memo last year about the company's marketing commitment to the Games, according to Advertising Age.

Kraft has donated $25,000 to the Gay Games, an amount the company's board considered "well within the scope" of its $85 million charitable-giving program. (The Advocate)

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