Proctor & Gamble decline to welcome debate

Filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney were delighted to hear that Proctor & Gamble were considering showing Mine Your Own Business to its employees.

However it seems that their optimism was short-lived. The greatest victory of the environmentalist movement has been to cast its actions and opinions as a moral, non-political stance. Given this who could dare question morality.

Of course this also means there should be no debate about the issues because no one is allowed debate against a moral stance.

However filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney reject this analysis.

"The suggestion that the environment is degrading is a political point of view not based on science and certainly has no moral basis. The suggestion that we need to cut back or reduce or consumption is a similarly flawed political ideology. Right now the rivers and air of the developed world are cleaner than ever and in the developing world development is cleaning up centuries of degradation caused by poverty. Poverty not development destroys the environment," the filmmakers stated.

"This is a debate worth having and we are disappointed that such an influential company as Proctor & Gamble will not acknowledge the need for discussion before we embrace anti-development politics dressed up as apolitical environmentalism," the filmmakers added.

WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Action Fund Management, LLC
(AFM), the investment advisor to the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker:
FEAOX), announced today that negotiations over the FEAOX's shareholder
proposal filed with Procter & Gamble (Ticker: PG) have broken down over PG's
refusal to acknowledge that company employees should be exposed to both sides
of the debate over sustainable development.


"We wanted Procter & Gamble to show its managers and employees the new
documentary "Mine Your Own Business: The Dark Side of Environmentalism"
(http://www.mineyourownbusiness.org) and to publicly acknowledge the need to
hear from both sides of the sustainable development debate," said Steve Milloy
of AFM. "While Procter & Gamble said it was willing to distribute 100 copies
of the film to its employees, the company refused to publicly acknowledge the
value of debate," added Milloy.


"Without the requested public acknowledgment, we doubt that Procter &
Gamble is really sincere about showing its employees 'Mine Your Own Business,'
or educating its employees about what many view as the dark side of
environmentalism," said AFM's Tom Borelli. "Procter & Gamble's stakeholder
engagement on sustainability apparently is limited only to the voice of
environmental activists. 'Mine Your Own Business' spotlights the human cost of
blind adherence to sustainability -- a message company management needs to
hear," added Borelli.


Negotiations between AFM and PG began after AFM filed a shareholder
proposal with PG requesting a report to shareholders on the actions the
company is taking to promote the general business environment.


"Procter & Gamble touts its sustainable development activities on its web
site, but says little if anything about what it's doing to promote business,
capitalism and free enterprise," said Milloy. "The company offered to meet
with us about our concerns, but our position was that employee-viewing of
"Mine Your Own Business" would be a more productive use of everyone's time.


"We're obviously disappointed, but not surprised," said Borelli.
"Companies like Procter & Gamble have been so intimidated by anti-business
environmental and social activists that they're afraid to be seen as
considering alternative points of view," Borelli said.


"I suppose we'll have to look forward to discussing this issue with
Procter & Gamble CEO Alan G. Lafley at the annual shareholder meeting this
fall," Milloy concluded.


The FEAOX aims to increase shareholder value by advancing free-market
principles in the companies it owns. FEAOX is available exclusively through
BISYS Fund Services Limited Partnership (applications may be obtained at
http://www.FEAOX.com/how.html), and through E*Trade
Financial, Scottrade and
HSBC.




SOURCE Free Enterprise Action Fund