The Resume

(1902- )
Food processor and commodities trader
Formed by John A. Archer and John W. Daniels
270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities
38,322 employees (fiscal year 2022)
Revenues of $85.2 billion (fiscal year 2022)
Ranked 38 on the Fortune 500 list of largest American companies (2022)

Why Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) might be annoying:

The company was fined $100 million -- the largest anti-trust fine in US history at the time -- and three top executives were sentenced to federal prison for price fixing in the lysine market (1997-99).
It paid $1.46 million in fines for violating federal and state air pollution regulations at its Decatur, Illinois, plant (2001).
It paid fines of $18 million to the Justice Department and $36 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to implement internal financial controls, thereby allowing subsidiaries in Ukraine and Venezuela to bribe officials (2013).
It sold land at a fraction of its assessed value to incoming Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue (2017).
It lobbies for agricultural subsidies and price supports for its products -- especially sugar, corn syrup, and ethanol -- so even if you never buy their products, as a taxpayer you are still giving them your money.

Why Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) might not be annoying:

The lysine price fixing scandal at least gave Matt Damon a good role as whistleblower/embezzler Mark Whitacre in 'The Informant.' (2009)
The company announced plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 25% by 2035 (2019).
It announced plans to be 100% deforestation-free by 2030, then moved the date up to 2025 (2021).
It received a perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign for providing workforce protection and inclusive benefits to LGBT employees (2022).

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 92]
• Corporations
• Profiles 57251-57500 (Ranked: 57486)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 14 Votes: 28.57% Annoying