Protecting interests is a simple concept. If something is worth having and preserving, than it should be protected by any means necessary. Protecting capital interests knows no bounds. Corporations have been proven to go to many great lengths to secure their investments and money. In the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, corporate moguls went as far as to have committed illegal acts just to gain profit in their market.
Archer Daniels Midland was considered a “supermarket to the world”. The supermarket chain was very successful at the expense of its customers. In 1999, three of Archer Daniels Midlands top officials including its vice chairman Michael Andreas, were sent to federal prison for conspiring with foreign rivals to control the international market for lysine. Lysine is a feed additive that optimizes growth in animals such as chickens, pigs and cows. From August 1992 to December 1995, the Justice Department investigated a massive price fixing scheme. It is estimated that Archer Daniels Midland overcharged farmers approximately $180 million dollars. This same company also met with foreign competitors to set the global price of citric acid which is also a widespread food additive. At a meeting with Japanese executives, the president of Archer Daniels Midland is quoted as saying,”Our competitors are our friends, and our customers are our enemies” (Schlosser 143) What lengths will corporations go to protect what’s theirs? Integrity seems to be a price that they’re willing to pay.
