Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
nationalization of milk production and dissuading labor leaders from calling strikes in Nestlé facilities dur-
ing the bloody CIA-led coup d'état that ended the administration of democratically elected reformer Sal-
vador Allende. Brabeck-Letmathe, known either for his forthrightness or for putting his foot in his mouth,
told the 2006 Davos Open Forum that the idea of water as a basic human right was “extreme” and that
water should have value like any foodstuff. 31
Brabeck-Letmathe serves on numerous boards, which helps position him to advance Nestlé's agenda.
He is vice chairman of Credit Suisse (CS), the giant Swiss financial services company that advises Nestlé
on acquisitions. CS and Nestlé have long had an incestuous relationship. The chairman of CS from 1986 to
2000 was Rainer E. Gut, who served as a director of Nestlé from 1981 to 2005 and as the company's vice
chairman for his last five years of service. 32 Like Nooyi, Brabeck-Letmathe is on the foundation board of
the World Economic Forum. He is also on the boards of ExxonMobil, Roche Holding, Alcon, and the In-
ternational Association for the Promotion and Protection of Private Foreign Investments, among others. 33
Brabeck-Letmathe recently told a reporter for Financial Markets that genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) have never killed anyone, but organic food has—referring to a food-poisoning incident related to
organic sprouts. In another interview, he said about organics: “You have to be rational. There's no way you
can support life on Earth if you go straight from farm to table.” 34
Not all CEOs are as forthright, even if wrong-minded. Irene Rosenfeld, the CEO of Kraft Foods—the
third-largest food company in the United States—is more careful with her words. Perhaps her style is a
result of her doctorate in marketing and statistics from Cornell, or because she began her career at a top-
tier Madison Avenue advertising agency. She was employed by one of Kraft Foods subsidiaries from 1981
to 2003, including the consumer research division of General Mills, and she left briefly to head PepsiCo's
Frito-Lay division from 2004 to 2006. Rosenfeld serves on the boards of the GMA, the Economic Club
of Chicago, and Cornell University. Kraft, along with other major food corporations, has been a long-term
supporter of Cornell's Department of Food Science.
Kraft is the world's largest seller of packaged foods, and it operates in 170 countries and has 223 manu-
facturing and processing plants. The company brags that 80 percent of its revenue comes from brands that
are the top seller in their categories, and 50 percent of its revenue comes from categories where Kraft's
market share is twice its nearest competitor's. Its brands include: Oreo, Nabisco, and LU biscuits; Tang;
Milka and Cadbury chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees; Philadelphia cream
cheeses; Kraft cheeses, dinners, and dressings; and Oscar Mayer meats. 35
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