Archer-Daniels-Midland

Archer Daniels Midland is a fortune 500 stock listed company trading under the symbol ADM and has a proven stock performance record.

ADM is one of the world's largest agribusiness companies. It sees itself as an extension of the farm, or alternatively the supermarket of the world. It recently launched a new mission statement, to unlock the potential of nature to improve the quality of life, which is suggestive of support for biotechnology. Archer Daniels Midland knows how to grind and squeeze a fortune out of humble plants. It is one of the world's largest processors of oilseeds, corn, and wheat. Its main offerings include soybean, peanut, and other oilseed products. From corn, it produces syrups, sweeteners, citric and lactic acids, and ethanol, among other items. ADM also produces wheat and durum flour for bakeries and pasta makers. It processes cocoa beans and has a variety of other business interests, ranging from fish farming to a regional railroad.

The other products are formula animal feeds; animal health and nutrition products; malt products for the food and beverage industries; consumer foods including spaghetti, noodles, vegetables and herbs. ADM's products of markets related to Soya, maize and the products derived from them are given in appendix 3 of the main report, Control freaks. ADM became the world's largest cocoa processor in 1996, when it bought the cocoa operations of WR Grace and ED&F Man. Chocolate manufacturers were already big ADM customers for maize sweeteners, so cocoa would fit well.

ADM has doubled in size over the last ten years 1989 with sales 7.9 billion dollars. Much of this has come from acquisitions, especially in 1997, when it bought soybean processor Moorman Manufacturing, various grain handling and exporting facilities in South America, and an 8 percent stake in US pork and beef packer . Major growth also occurred in Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc.

ADM is one of the world's largest agribusiness companies. It sees itself as an extension of the farm, or alternatively the supermarket of the world. It recently launched a new mission statement, to unlock the potential of nature to improve the quality of life, which is suggestive of support for biotechnology.