Seaboard Corporation
Encyclopedia
Seaboard Corporation is a diversified conglomerate
that operates worldwide a number of agriculture
and ocean transport businesses. In the United States
, the company mainly engages in pork
production and processing. Internationally, Seaboard also has operations in cargo shipping, commodity merchandising, sugar
and citrus
production and flour milling
. The company maintains a fleet of about 30 container vessels, 7 of which are company-owned, and approximately 23 chartered container vessels. The company also operates as an energy producer in the Dominican Republic
generating electricity from diesel engine
s mounted on two large barge
s.
Seaboard has over 9500 employees, mostly in U.S., Latin America, and Africa. The company, based in Shawnee Mission, Kansas
, is a Fortune 1000
firm with net sales exceeding $2.0 billion per year. Seaboard is a majority owned subsidiary of Seaboard Flour, which is owned by the Bresky family.
and James Steele published a Time Magazine investigative article, "The Empire of the Pigs," which chronicled "how an extremely resourceful corporation plays the welfare game, maximizing the benefits to itself, often to the detriment of those who provide them." Barlett and Steele described a history of corporate welfare from 1990 to 1997 describing Seaboard Corporation as "the beneficiary of at least $150 million in economic incentives from federal, state and local governments to build and staff poultry- and hog-processing plants in the U.S.; insure its operations in foreign countries, and sell its products." Their research also alleged that Seaboard Corp. had a history of worker abuse and environmental damage during this same period as stock prices rose dramatically from $116 to $387 per share. Rick Hoffman, CEO of the company's Seaboard Farms subsidiary, responded by telling the Associated Press that, "There were no programs that Seaboard solicited by the state that did not already exist for other new businesses." He also declared that much of the money Time claimed was earmarked for Seaboard did not in fact benefit the company.
In 1996, Seaboard bought the sugar plantation and refinery, San Martin de Tabacal in Salta, Argentina, immediately firing 6,000 workers many of whom were members of the Ava Guaraní and Kolla indigenous communities. These indigenous communities have maintained an on-going claim to their ancestral lands which they have lived on and farmed for centuries. In 2003, they were violently removed at gunpoint re-invigorating a campaign to have Seaboard Corp./San Martin de Tabacal return their land. Their ongoing campaign quickly gained the support of Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
and protests by international activists. In August, 2007 a judge ordered Seaboard to cease all tree and earth removal pending a court decision on land ownership.
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
that operates worldwide a number of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and ocean transport businesses. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the company mainly engages in pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
production and processing. Internationally, Seaboard also has operations in cargo shipping, commodity merchandising, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
production and flour milling
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
. The company maintains a fleet of about 30 container vessels, 7 of which are company-owned, and approximately 23 chartered container vessels. The company also operates as an energy producer in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
generating electricity from diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s mounted on two large barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s.
Seaboard has over 9500 employees, mostly in U.S., Latin America, and Africa. The company, based in Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Shawnee Mission, Kansas is a name created by the United States Postal Service to describe an area of Johnson County, Kansas that contains numerous towns. Parts of southern Overland Park are not part of Shawnee Mission as they were annexed from unincorporated Stanley and use zip code 66085...
, is a Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...
firm with net sales exceeding $2.0 billion per year. Seaboard is a majority owned subsidiary of Seaboard Flour, which is owned by the Bresky family.
Seaboard subsidiaries
- Seaboard Foods
- Seaboard Marine (Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
) - Seaboard Commodity Trading and Milling
- National Milling Company of GuyanaNational Milling Company of GuyanaNational Milling Company of Guyana , a subsidiary of U.S. based Seaboard Corporation, is the oldest commercial flour mill in Guyana. It started operations in1969....
, GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
- National Milling Company of Guyana
- Other Divisions
- Ingenio y Refineria San Martin del Tabacal SRL, Sugar and Citrus, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
- Transcontinental Capital Corp. (Bermuda) Ltd., Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
- Boyar Estates S.A., BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
- Chestnut Hill Farms Honduras, S. de R.L. de C.V., HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
- Mount Dora Farms Inc., Miami, Florida
- Seaboard Transportation, Inc., Shawnee Mission, Kansas
- ButterballButterballButterball is a brand of turkey and other poultry products produced by Butterball LLC. The company manufactures food products in the United States and internationally — specializing in turkey, cured deli meats, raw roasts and specialty products such as soups and salads, sandwiches, and...
LLC, Garner, North Carolina (50%)
- Ingenio y Refineria San Martin del Tabacal SRL, Sugar and Citrus, Argentina
Historical Controversies
In 1998, Pulitzer Prize investigative journalists Donald BarlettDonald Barlett
Donald L. Barlett is an American investigative journalist and author who collaborated with James B. Steele. According to The Washington Journalism Review they were a better investigative reporting team than even Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Together they have won two Pulitzer Prizes, two...
and James Steele published a Time Magazine investigative article, "The Empire of the Pigs," which chronicled "how an extremely resourceful corporation plays the welfare game, maximizing the benefits to itself, often to the detriment of those who provide them." Barlett and Steele described a history of corporate welfare from 1990 to 1997 describing Seaboard Corporation as "the beneficiary of at least $150 million in economic incentives from federal, state and local governments to build and staff poultry- and hog-processing plants in the U.S.; insure its operations in foreign countries, and sell its products." Their research also alleged that Seaboard Corp. had a history of worker abuse and environmental damage during this same period as stock prices rose dramatically from $116 to $387 per share. Rick Hoffman, CEO of the company's Seaboard Farms subsidiary, responded by telling the Associated Press that, "There were no programs that Seaboard solicited by the state that did not already exist for other new businesses." He also declared that much of the money Time claimed was earmarked for Seaboard did not in fact benefit the company.
In 1996, Seaboard bought the sugar plantation and refinery, San Martin de Tabacal in Salta, Argentina, immediately firing 6,000 workers many of whom were members of the Ava Guaraní and Kolla indigenous communities. These indigenous communities have maintained an on-going claim to their ancestral lands which they have lived on and farmed for centuries. In 2003, they were violently removed at gunpoint re-invigorating a campaign to have Seaboard Corp./San Martin de Tabacal return their land. Their ongoing campaign quickly gained the support of Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is an Argentine sculptor, architect and pacifist. He was the recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize.-Biography:Pérez Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires to a Spanish fisherman who emigrated to Argentina...
and protests by international activists. In August, 2007 a judge ordered Seaboard to cease all tree and earth removal pending a court decision on land ownership.