Carl Icahn takes on McDonald's over "unnecessary suffering" by pigs

Carl Icahn's reputation as a ruthless corporate raider may be at risk as the billionaire mogul takes on the world's biggest fast-food chain over the treatment of pigs that end up in the U.S. pork supply.

"I really do feel emotional about these animals and the unnecessary suffering you put them through," Icahn said in an interview last week with Bloomberg News. A pig has "a good brain" and is "a feeling animal," added Icahn, described as "not a warm person" by biographer Mark Stevens.

The investor has nominated two people for election to McDonald's board of directors in what's likely a first step toward a proxy fight, the company confirmed Sunday in a statement. Icahn, who holds a mere 200 shares in McDonald's, told Bloomberg that his motivation had nothing to do with profit.