Cargill
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox company Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held company in the United States in terms of revenue.<ref name="FP">Template:Cite web</ref>
Some of Cargill's major businesses are trading, purchasing and distributing grain and other agricultural commodities, such as palm oil; trading in energy, steel and transport; raising livestock and production of feed; and producing food ingredients such as starch and glucose syrup, vegetable oils and fats for application in ultra-processed foods and industrial use. Cargill also has a large financial services arm, which manages financial risks in the commodity markets for the company. In 2003, it split off a portion of its financial operations into Black River Asset Management, a hedge fund with about $10 billion of assets and liabilities. It previously owned two-thirds of the shares of The Mosaic Company (sold off in 2011), a producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients.
Cargill reported gross revenues of $165 billion in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It last reported net profit earnings in 2021, of just below $5 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Employing over 160,000 employees<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 66 countries, it is responsible for 25% of all United States grain exports. The company also supplies about 22% of the United States domestic meat market, importing more products from Argentina than any other company, and is the largest poultry producer in Thailand. All the eggs used in American McDonald's restaurants pass through Cargill's plants.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is the only US producer of Alberger process salt, which is used in the fast-food and prepared food industries.
Cargill has remained a family-owned business, as the descendants of the founder (from the Cargill and MacMillan families) own over 90% of it.<ref name=FT022604>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 2023, Brian Sikes was appointed as president and CEO,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the 10th CEO in Cargill's 158-year history.
History
19th century
Cargill was founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill when he bought a grain-flat house in Conover, Iowa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A year later William was joined by his brother Sam, forming W. W. Cargill and Brother. Together, they built grain flat houses and opened a lumberyard. In 1875, Cargill moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and their brother James joined the business. La Crosse was strategically located on the Mississippi near the junctions of the La Crosse River, Dubuque, and Southern Minnesota divisions of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad.
Sam Cargill left La Crosse in 1887 to manage the office in Minneapolis, an important emerging grain center. Three years later, the Minneapolis operation incorporated as Cargill Elevator Co.; some years after that the La Crosse operation incorporated as W. W. Cargill Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 1898, John H. MacMillan Sr., and his brother, Daniel, began working for W. W. Cargill. MacMillan then married William Cargill's eldest daughter, Edna.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
20th century
Upon Sam Cargill's death in 1903, William Cargill became the sole owner of the La Crosse office. John MacMillan was named general manager of Cargill Elevator Company and moved his family to Minneapolis. William Cargill died in 1909, creating a fiscal crisis for the company. MacMillan worked to resolve the credit issues and to force his brother-in-law William S. Cargill out of the company. The current owners are descended from John MacMillan's two sons, John H. MacMillan Jr., and Cargill MacMillan Sr., and his youngest brother-in-law, Austen S. Cargill I.
John MacMillan ran the company until his retirement in 1936. Under his leadership Cargill grew several fold, expanding out of the Midwest by opening its first East coast offices, in New York, in 1923. He was also the architect of the company's strategy of internationalism.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> He opened the company's first Canadian, European and Latin American offices in 1928, 1929, and 1930. He was also noted for his involvement in the controversial commercial rapprochement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />
The first of the crises was the debt left by the death of William W. Cargill. The company issued $2.25 million in Gold Notes, backed by Cargill stock, to pay off its creditors. The Gold Notes were due in 1917, but thanks to record grain prices caused by World War I all debts were paid by 1915.
As World War I continued into 1917, Cargill made record earnings and faced criticisms of war profiteering. Four years later, as a fallout from the financial crash of 1920, Cargill posted its first loss.
Cargill opened its first Canadian operations in Montreal in 1928 as Cargill Grain Company Ltd.<ref name="timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Headquartered in Winnipeg,<ref name="limited"/> it employs up to 8,000 people in Canada.<ref name="limited">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cbr">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cgovt">Template:Cite web</ref>
One of the biggest criticisms of Cargill has been its perceived arrogance (see, for example, Brewster Kneen in the Ecologist and also Greg Muttitt in the same journal). The MacMillans' aggressive management style led to a decades-long feud with the Chicago Board of Trade.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> It began in 1934 when the Board denied membership to Cargill.<ref name=":1" /> The US government overturned the Board's ruling and forced it to accept Cargill as a member. The 1936 corn crop failed and with the 1937 crop unavailable until October, the Chicago Board of Trade ordered Cargill to sell some of its corn. Cargill refused to comply.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>
The US Commodity Exchange Authority and Chicago Board of Trade accused Cargill of trying to corner the corn market. In 1938, the Chicago Board suspended Cargill and three of its officers from the trading floor. When the Board lifted its suspension a few years later, Cargill refused to rejoin, instead trading through independent traders. During World War II, MacMillan Jr. continued to expand the company, which boomed as it stored and transported grain and built T1 tankers and Towboats ships for the United States Navy.<ref name="Forbes1102"/> Cargill purchased the stock of Nutrena Feeds in 1945.<ref name="CBS">Template:Cite news</ref> Cargill had focused on building T1 tankers and Towboats for the United States Navy during World War II while still storing and transporting grain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the war, it began focusing on animal feeds which were in short supply and purchased Nutrena which was known as Nutrena Mills at the time. The purchase doubled the size of Cargill's animal feed business.<ref name="CBS"/>
In 1960, Erwin Kelm became the first non-family chief executive. Aiming for expansion into downstream production, he led the company into milling, starches, and syrups. As the company grew, it developed a market intelligence network as it coordinated its commodities trading, processing, freight, shipping, and futures businesses. In the decades before email, the company relied on its own telex-based system for internal communication.<ref name="Forbes1102"/> By 1972, Cargill's business grew with $5 billion in sales, becoming the largest agricultural trader in the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
When the Soviet Union entered the grain markets in the 1970s, demand grew to unprecedented levels, and Cargill benefitted. In 1963, Cargill had already negotiated a $40 million wheat deal with the USSR, establishing a relationship that later involved a series of larger deals.<ref name=":0" /> When Whitney MacMillan, nephew of John Jr., took over the company from Kelm in 1976, revenue approached $30 billion. The US government put pressure on big grain exporters with allegations of manipulating the market, and Cargill was a major target, but it emerged without any major changes.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>
In 1978, Cargill purchased the large Leslie Salt refining company in Newark, California, from Schilling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1979, Cargill entered the meat-processing business with the purchase of beef processor MBPXL (later Excel).<ref name=excelhistory>Template:Cite web</ref> The division expanded into turkey, food service and food distribution businesses and is now known as Cargill Meat Solutions.
In 1986 Cargill started operations in Venezuela through a partnership with the Possenti family's Mimesa C.A. to form Agroindustrial Mimesa in Maracaibo, dedicated to the manufacturing of flour and pasta. Expansion followed thereafter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tensions arose with the company's private shareholders, as Cargill typically put 80% of earnings back into the business. By the early 1990s, members of the Cargill and MacMillan families became upset that their shares in the company were yielding mediocre dividends. Demands rose for an initial public offering to turn the company public. The company responded with an employee stock ownership plan, and in 1993 reportedly purchased 17% of the firm for $730 million from 72 Cargills and MacMillans. It used that stake to begin the employee stock plan. The company's board of directors was reorganized to reduce the number of relatives to six, alongside six independents and five managers.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>
Ernest Micek took over as chief executive in August 1995.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Cargill underwent turmoil in the following years; its financial unit lost hundreds of millions of dollars in 1998 when Russia defaulted on debt and developing countries began to have financial issues. The commodities and ingredients business, which was 75% of Cargill's total revenue, suffered from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.<ref name="Forbes1102"/> Revenues fell by double-digit percentages for two years in a row, from $55.7 billion in 1997 to $51.4 billion in 1998 and $45.7 billion in 1999, while net income fell from $814 million in 1997 to $468 million in 1998 and $220 million in 1999.<ref name="FT022604"/> By 1999, the company had $4 billion in debt. After a reduction in previously strong bond credit rating, Micek announced he would step down a year early.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>
21st century
In 1998, Warren Staley became chief executive and continued expanding the company and it rebounded.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He pursued a new strategy that shifted away from an asset-intensive commodities company to solutions-oriented enterprise.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> While expanding, the company also refocused its business by selling assets such as its coffee and rubber businesses.<ref name=":2" />
In 2002 Cargill acquired European-based starch manufacturer Cerestar from Montedison for $1.1 billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web </ref>
By 2002, Cargill had over $50 billion in annual sales, twice the amount of its closest rival, Archer Daniels Midland, and had 97,000 employees running more than 1,000 production sites in 59 countries.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>
Cargill Meat Solutions acquired Milwaukee Emmpak in 2003 and merged it with Taylor Packing Co. (purchased in 2001). In 2006, Cargill Meat purchased Fresno Meats. The three main brands of beef are Circle T Beef, Valley Tradition, and Meadowland Farms.<ref name=tnpctp>Template:Cite web</ref>
On June 1, 2007, CEO Staley was succeeded by Gregory R. Page.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cargill's quarterly profits exceeded $1 billion for the first time during the quarter ending on February 29, 2008 ($1.03 billion); the 86% rise was credited to global food shortages and the expanding biofuels industry that, in turn, caused a rise in demand for Cargill's core areas of agricultural commodities and technology.<ref name=Strib041508>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In October 2011, the U.S. Justice Department announced that a biotech specialist at Cargill had pleaded guilty to stealing information from Cargill and Dow AgroSciences. Kexue Huang, a Chinese national, was discovered to be passing trade secrets back to China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In November 2011, Cargill completed the acquisition of Provimi, a global animal nutrition company for €1.5 billion ($2.1 billion US).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On April 1, 2012, Cargill completed a purchase of a cat and dog food plant in Emporia, Kansas. It was previously owned by American Nutrition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2013 CEO and chairman Page was succeeded by CEO Dave MacLennan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2014, Cargill finished commissioning a $100 million Indonesian cocoa plant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2015, Cargill wound down its Black River Asset Management division by shutting down four hedge funds, folding two agriculture and energy funds into Cargill, and spinning off three fund businesses to employees to create the hedge fund Proterra Investment Partners, emerging markets debt specialist Argentem Creek Partners and hedge fund Garda Capital Partners.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2016, Cargill announced that it would move its Protein Group headquarters from older buildings in downtown Wichita, Kansas, and consolidate into a new building in Wichita's nearby Old Town area. The new $60 million building will be built on the site of the building that formerly housed The Wichita Eagle, following the old building's demolition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web </ref>
In 2016, Cargill completed the commissioning of a feed plant in Bathinda, Punjab, India, and manufactures dairy cattle feed under the Purina brand name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2017, Cargill sold its Geneva-based petroleum-trading business to Macquarie Bank<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and soon after its North American power and gas trading business as well.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2018, Cargill and Faccenda Foods opened a joint venture to take over their U.K. fresh poultry businesses, Avara Foods, employing 6,000 people.<ref name=Avara>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2018, Cargill completed the purchase of Pro Pet, a pet food manufacturing company. Pro Pet had three manufacturing facilities, one in Owatonna, Minnesota, one in Kansas City, Kansas, and one in St. Marys, Ohio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In November 2018, Cargill sold its 13 crop input locations in Ontario, Canada to La Coop Fédérée.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2018, Cargill made a $25 million investment in Puris, a supplier of pea protein used in Beyond Meat products. In 2019, Cargill invested an additional $75 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
COVID-19 crisis
On April 8, 2020, Cargill closed its Hazleton, Pennsylvania meatpacking facility because "an unspecified number of Cargill employees at the plant [had] tested positive for COVID-19." The county had the "highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area with 982", of which 849 were in Hazleton.<ref name="agpenn">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bcold">Template:Cite news</ref>
On April 20, 2020, Cargill temporarily closed its High River, Alberta, plant because "the operation was linked to nearly 500 cases of COVID-19". All 2,100 employees were recommended for virus testing.<ref name=rcar>Template:Cite news</ref> This plant was responsible for about 36% of Canada's beef producing capacity.<ref name=tsclos>Template:Cite news</ref> On May 6, the plant was connected with 1,560 cases of COVID-19.<ref name="nicbc">Template:Cite news</ref> United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW) Union Local 401 has recommended the plant's closure since 38 cases were known.<ref name=cbcdry>Template:Cite news</ref>
The public health authority of Quebec did not shut down a Cargill plant in Chambly south of Montreal on May 10, 2020. A total of 64 employees, about 13% of the workforce, had COVID-19. The workers are represented by the UFCW. The public health department for the Montérégie region had been working with Cargill since April 25 to deal with the outbreak. Cargill closed the plant on its own.<ref name="cbcmp">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cbcwhat">Template:Cite news</ref>
On May 11, a CBC journalist wrote, "The Cargill plant in Alberta, where there have been about 1,000 reported cases [of human COVID-19], is now considered the largest single-site outbreak in North America."<ref name="cbcfi">Template:Cite news</ref> Meanwhile, the Agriculture Union of CFIA's embedded inspectors at slaughterhouses said that management is "threatening disciplinary action against employees who refuse to be reassigned to work at COVID-19-infected meat plants", while Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland said, "those who feel unsafe won't be forced back to work."<ref name=cbcfi/>
Also on May 11, the Alberta government disclosed that a second worker from the Cargill plant there had died that day.<ref name="gm11m">Template:Cite news</ref>
On June 3, 2020, Cargill announced that it would no longer publish quarterly results, stopping the disclosures that the company had provided since 1996. Cargill canceled its third-quarter earnings release in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="kpnomore">Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2021, Croda announces the sale of one of its divisions to Cargill for $1 billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2022, Cargill announced it would build a corn syrup refinery in Fort Dodge, Iowa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
New strategy
In 2022, Cargill saw record profits due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising food prices.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In January 2023, Brian Sikes was appointed president and CEO.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Countries of operation
Template:Update Template:As of, Cargill operates in 70 countries across six regions around the world.<ref name="Worldwide">Template:Cite web</ref>
Africa
Algeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Indo Pacific
China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Oceania
Australia, New Zealand
South Asia
India
Starting operations in 1987, Cargill had a foods business unit called Cargill Foods India which processes, refines and markets a wide range of both indigenous and imported edible oils, fats and blends to the food industry including Sweekar, Nature Fresh, Gemini, Rath and Shakti brands of edible oil. In 2012 it launched Chakki Fresh Atta in India under the brand name "Sampoorna". Its customers are in the retail, food service sector and beverage industry.
Apart from sugar and cotton, Cargill India is also one of India's largest originators and marketers of food and coarse grains. It has its own Trade and Structured Finance arm, which also operates the Cargill Capital and Financial Services India Private Limited. Its Cargill Energy, Transport and Metals BU is active across ocean freight, coal, iron ore and steel trading. It bought Sunflower Oil Brand From Wipro In December 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After the government of India, Cargill is India's second-largest buyer of food grain.Template:Citation needed It has been buying grains and oilseeds in India since 1998. It also has the largest producer of potash, Mosaic.
Pakistan
Cargill started doing business in Pakistan in 1984.<ref name=Pakistan>Template:Cite web</ref> Cargill Pakistan Holdings was incorporated on January 25, 1990.<ref name=SECP/> In the 1980s, Cargill sold hybrid safflower seeds extensively in Pakistan.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Today, Cargill imports palm oil and palm oil products from Malaysia and Indonesia into Pakistan, selling them in the local market. It also buys raw cotton bales from producers in Pakistan and sells them to China, Thailand and Vietnam.<ref name=Pakistan/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cargill also deals in animal feed, agriculture commodities, cotton, grain and oilseeds, metals, palm and sugar business in Pakistan.<ref name=SECP>Template:Cite web</ref>
In January 2019, Cargill announced a $200 million investment to grow business in Pakistan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Europe
In late 2022, Cargill confirmed that it would be able to export grain harvested in Ukraine despite the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. But it reported that it no longer controlled two facilities used to crush sunflower seeds, and that total Ukrainian production would therefore be 60% to 70% of normal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Latin America
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Middle East
Jordan and United Arab Emirates.
North America
Cargill sells salt in the US under the Diamond Crystal brand.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cargill sells turkey under the Honeysuckle White brand.Template:Citation needed
Meat processing plants
| Meat type | Plant location | Plant size | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | Wyalusing, PA | 500K sq ft | 1,200 |
| Beef | Fresno, CA | 400K sq ft | 1,100 |
| Beef | Milwaukee, WI | 250K sq ft | 950 |
| Beef<ref>Template:Cite web
</ref> || Friona, TX || || |
Criticism
Template:Main As a private company, Cargill is not required to release the same amount of information as a publicly traded company and, as a business practice, keeps a relatively low profile.<ref name="FT022604"/><ref name="Forbes1102"/>
In 2019 the NGO Mighty Earth released a 56-page report on Cargill. Mighty Earth chair and former U.S. Congressman Henry A. Waxman called Cargill "the worst company in the world" and said it drives "the most important problems facing our world" (deforestation, pollution, climate change, exploitation) "at a scale that dwarfs their closest competitors."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2019, the Swiss NGO Public Eye also criticized Cargill in various contexts in a report on agricultural commodity traders in Switzerland.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref>
Child trafficking
In 2005, the International Labor Rights Fund filed suit against Cargill, Nestlé, and Archer Daniels Midland in a US federal court on behalf of children who said they were trafficked from Mali into Côte d'Ivoire and forced to work on cocoa bean plantations 12 to 14 hours a day with no pay, little food and sleep, and frequent physical abuse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Even more recent evidence stems from a 2019 TV program on French channel France 2 about cocoa illegally harvested from protected areas in Côte d’Ivoire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The report found child labor to be widespread on the plantations investigated: every third worker was a child. Instances of child trafficking from neighboring Burkina Faso were also reported. Cargill, which buys from the plantations under investigation, at first denied that it was buying cocoa from protected areas, but was forced to admit that its traceability system had not reached these areas, and therefore that it could not fully trace the origins of its cocoa. Swiss-based food giant Nestlé is one of Cargill's biggest customers of cocoa sourced from Côte d'Ivoire, as later reported by Swiss TV channel RTS 1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2021, eight former child slaves from Mali named Cargill in a class action lawsuit, alleging that it aided and abetted their enslavement on cocoa plantations in Côte d'Ivoire. The suit accused Cargill, along with Nestlé, Barry Callebaut, Mars, Incorporated, Olam International, The Hershey Company, and Mondelez International, of knowingly engaging in forced labor, and sought damages for unjust enrichment, negligent supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Child labor in Uzbekistan
Cargill was a major buyer of cotton in Uzbekistan, despite the industry prevalence of uncompensated workers and possible human rights abuses, and admissions by two representatives that the company is aware of the possible use of child labor in the production of its crops. Their concerns have been public since 2005, but no action has been taken on labor violations in Cargill's Uzbek operations.<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Webarchive</ref>
Union busting
In February 2018, several employees of Cargill's Dayton, Virginia plant held protests. Their grievances included poor health benefits, bad working conditions, and Cargill's allegedly firing employees who organized to create a union.<ref name="barnett nov 21">Template:Cite web</ref> The protests led to nine people's arrest for trespassing on company property.<ref name="Wood">Template:Cite web</ref>
Worker safety during COVID-19
During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, a single meat processing plant in High River, Canada, was linked to over 358 cases<ref name=cbcdry/> of infection. United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union Local 401 president Thomas Hesse said, "It's a tragedy. We asked days and days ago for that plant to be closed temporarily for two weeks, send all of the workers home with pay to isolate. That was when we were aware of 38 cases. That was before they set up a dedicated testing facility in the area." Reports of employees being denied personal protective equipment also surfaced around the same period.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of May 3, 2020, 917 of the plant's 2,000 workers had tested positive, and the plant was linked to 1,501 total cases.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Land grabbing
The NGO Oxfam has documented an illustrative case of land grabbing. Between 2010 and 2012 Cargill brought huge areas of land in Colombia under its control despite legal restrictions on the acquisition of state land. To accomplish this, Cargill set up no fewer than 36 mailbox companies, which enabled it to exceed the legally prescribed maximum size of land ownership. With more than 50,000 hectares of land, Cargill thus acquired more than 30 times the land legally permitted for a single owner.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Food contamination
Template:Main In 1971, Cargill sold 63,000 tons of seed treated with a methylmercury-based fungicide that eventually caused a minimum of 650 deaths when it was eaten. The fumigated seed grain was provided by Cargill at the specific request of Saddam Hussein<ref name="diagnosis">Template:Cite book</ref> and was never intended for direct human or animal consumption prior to planting.<ref name="bakir">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Cargill's grain—which was dyed red and labeled with warnings in Spanish and English as well as a skull and crossbones design following a previous incident of mercury-treated seed being sold as food in Iraqi markets in 1960—was distributed too late for much of the 1971 planting season, causing many farmers to sell their excess product in the public markets at very low prices; this attracted many poor Iraqis who either could not understand the warnings or disregarded them, causing thousands of cases of mercury poisoning.<ref name="skerfving">Template:Cite journal</ref> The long latency period before developing symptoms and cattle's greater tolerance of mercury poisoning also contributed to the mistaken impression the surplus seed grain was safe to eat.<ref name="diagnosis" />
In October 2007, Cargill announced the recall of nearly 850,000 frozen beef patties produced at its packing plant in Butler, Wisconsin that were suspected of being contaminated with E. coli.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The beef was sold mainly at Walmart and Sam's Club stores.
In March 2009, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) temporarily suspended Cargill Australia's license to export meat to Japan and the US after E. coli was detected in Cargill's export containers from its Wagga Wagga plant. In late April 2009, AQIS lifted Cargill Australia's suspension on its export license.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In August 2011, the USDA and Cargill jointly announced the recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey produced at Cargill's Springdale, Arkansas, plant due to salmonella fears. The meat recalled was produced from February 20 to August 2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the particular strain of salmonella found was resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics. One death and 76 illnesses from 26 states were reported. Some 25 types of ground turkey produced under various brand names were affected, and all of the packages in question contained the code "Est. P-963."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In September 2011, Cargill announced a second, immediate and voluntary Class One recall of 185,000 pounds of 85% lean, fresh-ground turkey products because of possible contamination from Salmonella Heidelberg.<ref name=norwalkdv>Template:Cite web</ref> The turkey was produced at the company's Springdale, Arkansas, facility on August 23, 24, 30 and 31.<ref name=norwalkdv />
In July 2012, the Vermont Department of Public Health said that 10 people in the state had become sick from ground beef being recalled by Cargill Beef. The 10 became sick between June 6 and 26. Three were hospitalized, and all recovered, according to health officials. Hannaford Supermarkets alerted consumers that Cargill Beef was voluntarily recalling 29,339 pounds of ground beef that might contain salmonella. The 85%-lean ground beef was produced at Cargill's plant in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, on May 25, 2012, and repackaged for sale to consumers by customers of the Kansas-based company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Deforestation
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Soy
In 2003, Cargill completed a port for processing soya in Santarém in the Amazon region of Brazil, dramatically increasing soya production in the area and, according to Greenpeace, speeding up deforestation of local rain forest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2006, the federal courts in Brazil gave Cargill six months to complete an environmental assessment (EA). Initially supported by job-seeking locals, public opinion turned against the port as jobs have not appeared. In July 2006, the federal prosecutor indicated they were close to shutting down the port.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Greenpeace took its campaign to major food retailers and quickly won agreement from McDonald's along with UK-retailers Asda, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer to stop buying meat raised on Amazonian soya. These retailers have, in turn, put pressure on Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, André Maggi Group, and Dreyfus to prove their soya was not grown on recently deforested land in the Amazon. In July 2006, Cargill reportedly joined other soy businesses in Brazil in a two-year moratorium on the purchase of soybeans from newly deforested land.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2019 the six largest agricultural commodity traders, ADM, Bunge, Cargill, LDC, COFCO Int. and Glencore Agri, committed themselves to monitoring their soy supply chains in Brazil's Cerrado.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Palm oil
Cargill sells large volumes of palm oil, which is found in many processed foods, cosmetics and detergents. Most palm oil is obtained from plantations in Sumatra and Borneo, which have been heavily deforested to make way for them.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cocoa
On September 13, 2017, NGO Mighty Earth released a report<ref>Template:Cite web </ref> documenting findings that Cargill purchases cocoa grown illegally in national parks and other protected forests in the Ivory Coast.
The report accused Cargill of endangering the forest habitats of chimpanzees, elephants and other wildlife populations by purchasing cocoa linked to deforestation.<ref>Covey, R. and McGraw, W. S. "Monkeys in a West African bushmeat market: implications for cercopithecid conservation in eastern Liberia." Tropical Conservation Science. 7.1 (2014): 115-125.</ref><ref>Marchesi, P., Marchesi, N., Fruth, B., and Boesch, C. "Census and Distribution of Chimpanzees in Cote D’Ivoire." PRIMATES. 36.4(1995): 591-607.</ref><ref>"Poaching contributes to forest elephant declines in Côte d’Ivoire, new numbers reveal." WWF. September 5, 2011. </ref> As a result of cocoa production, 7 of the 23 Ivorian protected areas have been almost entirely converted to cocoa.<ref>Bitty, A. E., Gonedele, S. B., Koffi Bene, J.C., Kouass, P.Q.I and McGraw, W. S. “Cocoa farming and primate extirpation inside The Ivory Coast’s protected areas.” Tropical Conservation Science. 8.1(2015): 95-113. </ref> Cargill was notified of the findings of Mighty Earth's investigation and did not deny that the company sourced its cocoa from protected areas in the Ivory Coast.
Data released in April 2019 by Global Forest Watch,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> an online platform providing data and tools for monitoring forests, showed that rates of tropical primary forest loss increased dramatically in 2018 in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, primarily due to cocoa farming and gold mining. In 2018 Ghana had the highest rate of increase (60%) in the world compared to 2017, with Côte d’Ivoire (26%) in second place.<ref name="auto"/>
Air pollution
In 2005, the company settled with the Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency over Clean Air Act violations, including a plan to invest over $60 million in capital improvements for clean air controls, after a joint federal and state effort that included Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota and Ohio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2006, NatureWorks, a subsidiary in Nebraska, settled with the state over inadequate air pollution controls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2015, Cargill settled with the EPA over Clean Air Act violations in a plant in Iowa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tax evasion
In 2011 a case of transfer mispricing came to light in Argentina involving the world's four largest grain traders: ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and LDC. Argentina's revenue and customs service began an investigation into the four companies when prices for agricultural commodities spiked in 2008 but very little profit for the four companies had been reported to the office. As a result of the investigation, it was alleged that the companies had submitted false declarations of sales and routed profits through tax havens or their headquarters. In some cases they were said to have used dummy corporations to buy grain and inflated costs in Argentina to reduce the recorded profits there.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to Argentina's revenue and customs service, the outstanding taxes amounted to almost US$1 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The companies involved have denied the allegations. As of 2019, the Argentinian tax authorities have not replied to Swiss NGO Public Eye’s request as to the state of the case.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In its 2018 annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bunge mentioned provisions that suggested the case was still ongoing: "[A]s of December 31, 2018, Bunge's Argentine subsidiary had received income tax assessments relating to 2006 through 2009 of approximately 1,276 million Argentine pesos (approximately $34 million), plus applicable interest on the outstanding amount of approximately 4,246 million Argentine pesos (approximately $113 million])."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Animal welfare
In 2015, Cargill announced that it would phase out gestation crates for its sows by 2017, reportedly responding to pressure from clients and consumers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2022, an inspection into a Dayton turkey factory revealed infractions against the Poultry Products Inspection Act, such as turkeys dying from asphyxiation without being stunned or slaughtered.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Antibiotic usage
In 2024, the USDA reported that Cargill was administering human-grade antibiotics to its cattle, despite labelling the beef products as free of antibiotics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that Cargill used antibiotics deemed vital for human health by the World Health Organization. This practice leads to human population antibiotic resistance, a source of human suffering prioritized by the UN. These antibiotics are restricted by the FDA to require a vet's prescription. However, farmers are still responsible for proper administration of the antibiotics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Cargill family
- Criticisms of Cargill
- Cargill Russia
- Margaret Anne Cargill
- Golden Triangle of Meat-packing
References
Further reading
External links
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