Archer Daniels on the Hotseat

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/03/13/archer-daniels-on-the-hotseat

March 13, 2008, 5:48 pm

Archer Daniels on the Hotseat

Posted by Darren McDermot

Jim Carlton reports:

As chairman, president and CEO of agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland, Patricia Woertz is used to some controversy.

But the audience she faced today at The Wall Street Journal’s “ECO: nomics” conference in California was probably tougher than she had expected. Appearing on a panel to discuss the future of renewable fuels and her company’s role as a big maker of ethanol, Ms. Woertz was hit right off the bat with this: an instant poll of the group of about 300 mostly business people found only 21% thought ethanol would be a significant part of solving the nation’s energy problem.

Her response: “I would say the jury is not out (on ethanol.) The jury is in.”

Adding insult to injury, one of the first questions from the audience came from an activist from the Rainforest Action Network, a radical group based in San Francisco. The activist took Ms. Woertz to task for her company’s use of palm oil from endangered forests in southeast Asia, and tried to hand her a petition from schoolchildren asking Archer Daniels to stop the practice. A microphone was taken away from the activist, and Ms. Woertz seemed unfazed. “I appreciate your raising the issue,” the CEO said, adding that the palm oil is derived in a sustainable way.

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