Avocados are a leading cause of deforestation in Mexico ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

[Image alt text: As You Sow® banner with logo, image of mountains and a lake, and text saying: The nation’s leading non-profit shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record of changing corporations for good] < [link removed] > Dear John,

Thank you for an incredible end-of-year giving season! We are truly heartened by your support, especially during such an uncertain time. Our mission continues full force in 2025 and we have big plans, all thanks to you. This month, we’re sharing a story of corporate accountability, and an update on the congressional investigation into As You Sow.Holy guacamole!! Around the world over 11 billion pounds of avocados are eaten every year with 2.8 billion pounds in the U.S. alone. This Sunday, the Super Bowl accounts for about 20% of annual avocado sales in the U.S.

[Image alt text: Avocado deforestation] < [link removed] >

Our insatiable demand for avocados has created serious environmental and social issues for Mexico, which supplies 90% of U.S. avocado imports. More than 10 football fields of Mexican forests are cleared daily for avocado orchards, with most of this deforestation violating federal law. This illegal expansion has severe consequences: depleting community water supplies, destroying protected habitats including the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, and enabling criminal activities through land seizures and corruption.

How did shareholders address this issue?

As You Sow began a corporate engagement with leading U.S. retailers, simultaneously raising awareness of illegal deforestation in their avocado supply chains and a practical solution sanctioned by the State of Michoacan: a system to trace and flag illegal orchards and a transparent certification system.

By approaching the issue from the top down and the bottom up, As You Sow secured a commitment from Mission Produce, a major avocado supplier, to discontinue purchasing avocados from illegally deforested orchards. This was soon followed by certification commitments from other major avocado suppliers, recognizing the system as a way to ensure ethical sourcing while protecting the environment.

When corporations listen to their shareholder’s concerns and use their influence constructively, supported by media attention, political action, and NGO expertise, they can catalyze meaningful change in complex environmental and social challenges. This success provides a model for how corporate responsibility can drive positive transformation in other agricultural sectors facing similar challenges – and means that we can all enjoy guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday! Read more about this on our blog. < [link removed] >

Watch our “Super Guacamole Bowl” video < [link removed] >

House Investigation of As You Sow is Over

On August 1, 2023, As You Sow received notice that the Republican House Judiciary Committee had initiated an investigation into our organization alleging that we were “violating U.S. antitrust law by entering into agreements with companies to ‘decarbonize’ corporate assets and reduce emissions to net zero.” We responded to the Committee's investigation by standing firm in defending investors’ rights, including having both our CEO and President testify in-person to the Committee.

The outcome of this investigation is an underwhelming Committee Majority report < [link removed] > that had little focus on antitrust activity, yet has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and is still ongoing for over 200 other organizations. A minority report presented a clear case that climate action is not an antitrust violation and faulted the GOP Committee with weaponizing government to intimidate shareholders.

A year and a half later, on January 3, 2025, the 118th Congress adjourned, officially ending the investigation of As You Sow. As we continue our work with companies and investors to responsibly address climate risk, we remain committed to defending shareholder rights, asking material questions, and demanding corporate action on critical issues of financial risk and long term value.We’re facing uncertain times and an unprecedented need for corporate accountability. Thanks to your support, we have the tools and the strength to create the world we want. It’s going to be an unpredictable year, and we remain focused on engaging the world’s most influential corporations to help bring about a sustainable and successful future. Thank you for standing with us and helping launch into 2025 stronger than ever.

For the future, [Image alt text: Photo of Andrew Behar] [Image alt text: Signature of Andrew Behar] Andrew Behar, CEO

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As You Sow < [link removed] > is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity loss, racial injustice, and lack of workplace diversity. See As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker < [link removed] > . < [link removed] > < [link removed] >
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As You Sow

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DISCLAIMER: As You Sow is not an investment advisor, nor do we provide financial planning, legal or tax advice. The content of our programming, publications and presentations is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be considered as information sufficient upon which to base any decisions on investing, purchases, sales, trades, or any other investment transactions. We do not express an opinion on the future or expected value of any security or other interest and do not explicitly or implicitly recommend or suggest an investment strategy of any kind.

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