Cargill’s Food Empire Adapts to a Changing World

From the Minneapolis suburbs, Cargill Inc. runs one of the biggest food empires the world has ever seen, spanning the supply chain from farm to table—shipping fertilizer to farmers, buying the crops that are grown, processing grain into feed for livestock and poultry, and producing burgers and nuggets for the world’s biggest restaurant chains and retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and McDonald’s Corp.  As consumer tastes shift, Cargill is striving to make its immense size an advantage rather than a hindrance. It has revamped its corporate structure and portfolio of businesses as it responds to consumer concerns in developed countries about food ingredients and animal welfare, while investing to provide more Western-style diets to developing parts of the world.