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| Company type | Private |
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| Founded | 1929 in Declo, Idaho |
| Founder | J. R. Simplot |
| Headquarters | Boise, Idaho |
Key people |
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| Revenue |  US$6.0 billion (2020) [1] |
Number of employees | 11,000 |
| Website | simplot |
The J. R. Simplot Company (commonly referred to as Simplot) is an agribusiness company headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Simplot was founded in 1929 by 20-year-old John Richard Simplot near the agricultural community of Declo in south central Idaho, United States. [2] During the early 1940s, the business expanded, providing the military with dehydrated onions and potatoes during World War II. The firm was incorporated as the J. R. Simplot Company in 1955.
Simplot made billions from the commercialization of frozen French fries by one of its scientists, chemist Ray L. Dunlap. By the early 1970s, it was the primary supplier of French fries to McDonald's. [3] By 2005 it supplied more than half of all French fries for the fast food chain. [4] Simplot also produces fertilizers for agriculture [5] the mining of which has been a cause of recent environmental concerns.
Simplot is now one of the largest privately owned companies in the world (ranked 54th in Private Companies by Forbes magazine in 2020), [6] with $7.6B in revenue and 13,000 employees. It has branches in Australia, Canada, Mexico, China, and several other regions. One of the major plants is in Caldwell, Idaho.
J. R. Simplot retired as president of his company in 1973, but remained involved for many years. He stepped down as chairman of the board in 1994, and held the title of Chairman Emeritus until his death in 2008.
Since its founding, J. R. Simplot Company has contributed to numerous local organizations and causes, including Ronald McDonald House, WWF-Australia, Boys and Girls Clubs, Future Farmers of America, St. Luke's Children's Hospital, and the Special Olympics. Much of the company's philanthropic efforts are directed by employees serving on the company's volunteer service committee. The Simplot Company has donated thousands of pounds of potatoes to the Idaho Foodbank and the Boise Rescue Mission. They have also provided monetary support for the arts throughout Idaho including Ballet Idaho, Opera Idaho, and the Boise Philharmonic. [7]
In 2009, Simplot Company was awarded the Spirit of Treasure Valley award by the United Way of Treasure Valley. [7]
In February 2002, Simplot agreed to buy equipment and pay penalties related to an unreported release of 80,000 pounds of sulphur dioxide from a facility in Pocatello, Idaho. The company violated the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act by failing to immediately notify the Power and Bannock Counties' Local Emergency Planning Committees or the State Emergency Response Commission of the release. [8]
In February 2004, J.R. Simplot Company agreed to pay the United States Environmental Protection Agency $525,000 and install $2 million in air pollution control equipment to resolve violations of the federal Clean Air Act at its silica sand mining facility in Overton, Nevada. The violation occurred in 1988 when the company removed equipment required by the federal Clean Air Act to control emissions of air pollutants. [9]
In early 2012, Simplot submitted a report to the Environmental Protection Agency to explain its view regarding how and why pollution limits could be eased in phosphate mine areas, and linking to livestock die-offs of sheep and cattle in other areas. [10]
Simplot is one of six major companies to join the Obama Administration in an effort to significantly reduce energy use over the next 10 years. The company has received a number of awards, including the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining's Earth Day award for the environmental work completed in Nevada. [11]
In June 2012, Simplot partnered with two conservation groups and three phosphate mining companies in an effort to improve the water quality of the Blackfoot River in Eastern Idaho. The parties are: J.R. Simplot Company, Monsanto and Agrium/Nu-West Industries, the Idaho Conservation League and Trout Unlimited. [12]
More recently, Simplot settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice resolving alleged Clean Air Act violations related to modifications made at Simplot's five sulfuric acid plants near Lathrop, Calif., Pocatello, Idaho and Rock Springs, Wyo. Under the settlement, Simplot was required to spend an estimated $42 million to install, upgrade and operate pollution controls that significantly cut sulfur dioxide emissions at all five plants, fund a wood stove replacement project in the area surrounding the Lathrop plant, and pay an amount of $899,000 as civil penalty. [13] The company settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice resolving Simplot's liability for alleged violations at the Rock Springs, Wyoming facility under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), including failure to determine if a solid waste is a hazardous waste (40 C.F.R. § 262.11); treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste in the phosphogypsum (gypsum) stack without a permit or interim status (42 U.S.C. § 6925(a) and 40 C.F.R. Parts 264/265 and 270); failure to perform land disposal determinations and to meet land disposal restrictions for hazardous wastes (40 C.F.R. Part 268); and failure to submit complete Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) annual toxic release reports (42 U.S.C. § 11023 and the implementing regulations at 40 C.F.R. Part 372). Simplot agree to pay a civil penalty of $775,000 to resolve the alleged past violations of RCRA and EPCRA. [14] In 2021, Simplot agreed to pay a $65,248 penalty for violations of federal pesticide handling and storage requirements at its storage and retail facilities in Umatilla, Oregon and Moreland, Idaho. [15]
Simplot developed the genetically modified Innate potato, which was approved by the USDA in 2014 [16] and the FDA in 2015. [17] [18] [19] It is designed to resist blackspot bruising, browning and to contain less of the amino acid asparagine.
Asparagine can become acrylamide during the frying of potatoes and is a probable human carcinogen, so reduced levels of it are desirable. [20] [21] The 'Innate' name comes from the fact that this variety does not contain any genetic material from other species (the genes used are “innate” to potatoes). RNA interference is used to “switch off” genes in this case. Simplot hopes that not including genes from other species will assuage consumer fears about biotechnology. [20]
The “Innate” potato is not a single cultivar, rather, it is a group of potato varieties that have had the same genetic alterations applied using the same process. Five different potato varieties have been transformed, thus creating "innate" versions with all of the original traits plus the engineered ones. Ranger Russet, Russet Burbank, and Atlantic potatoes have all been transformed by Simplot, as well as two proprietary varieties. Modifications of each variety involved two transformations, one for each of the two new traits. [22]
Food and Water Watch successfully petitioned McDonald's to reject Innate potatoes. [23] [24]
French fries, chips, finger chips, french-fried potatoes, or simply fries are batonnet or allumette-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium or France. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and frying them, usually in a deep fryer. Pre-cut, blanched, and frozen russet potatoes are widely used, and sometimes baked in a regular or convection oven; air fryers are small convection ovens marketed for frying potatoes.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law designed to promote the enhancement of the environment. It created new laws requiring U.S. federal government agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of their actions and decisions, and it established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in December 1969 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970. To date, more than 100 nations around the world have enacted national environmental policies modeled after NEPA.
ASARCO is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999.
Agrium was a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North America, South America and Australia and a wholesale producer and marketer of all three major agricultural nutrients and a supplier of specialty fertilizers in North America.
Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) are community-based organizations that assist in preparing for emergencies, particularly those concerning hazardous materials. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about hazardous materials in the community to citizens. Plans are developed by LEPCs with stakeholder participation. The LEPC membership must include :
John Richard Simplot was an American entrepreneur and businessman best known as the founder of the J. R. Simplot Company, a Boise, Idaho–based agricultural supplier specializing in potato products. In 2007, he was estimated to be the 89th-richest person in the United States, at $3.6 billion. At the time of his death at age 99 in May 2008, he was the oldest billionaire on the Forbes 400.
Sewage disposal regulation and administration describes the governance of sewage treatment and disposal.
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 is a United States federal law passed by the 99th United States Congress located at Title 42, Chapter 116 of the U.S. Code, concerned with emergency response preparedness.
Russet Burbank is a potato cultivar with dark brown skin and few eyes that is the most widely grown potato in North America. A russet type, its flesh is white, dry, and mealy, and it is good for baking, mashing, and french fries (chips). It is a common and popular potato.
Right to know is a human right enshrined in law in several countries. UNESCO defines it as the right for people to "participate in an informed way in decisions that affect them, while also holding governments and others accountable". It pursues universal access to information as essential foundation of inclusive knowledge societies. It is often defined in the context of the right for people to know about their potential exposure to environmental conditions or substances that may cause illness or injury, but it can also refer more generally to freedom of information or informed consent.
Title 40 is a part of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. Title 40 arranges mainly environmental regulations that were promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), based on the provisions of United States laws. Parts of the regulation may be updated annually on July 1.
Pesticide regulation in the United States is primarily a responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In America, it was not till the 1950s that pesticides were regulated in terms of their safety. The Pesticides Control Amendment (PCA) of 1954 was the first time Congress passed guidance regarding the establishment of safe limits for pesticide residues on food. It authorized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban pesticides they determined to be unsafe if they were sprayed directly on food. The Food Additives Amendment, which included the Delaney Clause, prohibited the pesticide residues from any carcinogenic pesticides in processed food. In 1959, pesticides were required to be registered.
Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 566 U.S. 120 (2012), also known as Sackett I, is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act are subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. The Court ruled that because the Environmental Protection Agency's orders constitute "final agency action" under the Administrative Procedure Act, federal courts may hear appeals from its orders.
Alturas is a russet potato variety released in 2002 by the USDA-ARS and the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington and it is under plant variety protection. It is a processing potato that has cold-sweetening resistance, so it can be processed directly out of storage into French fries and other frozen potato products.
The Ranger Russet is a late-maturing potato that is used for baking and processing into fries. It was originally bred by Joseph J. Pavek of the USDA in Aberdeen, Idaho, and released jointly by the USDA and the agricultural stations of Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Colorado in 1991. Ranger Russet is not under plant variety protection. It yields medium to high numbers of tubers with a short dormancy period.
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There are many exemptions for fracking under United States federal law: the oil and gas industries are exempt or excluded from certain sections of a number of the major federal environmental laws. These laws range from protecting clean water and air, to preventing the release of toxic substances and chemicals into the environment: the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund.
Environmental cleanup laws govern the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, sediment, surface water, or ground water. Unlike pollution control laws, cleanup laws are designed to respond after-the-fact to environmental contamination, and consequently must often define not only the necessary response actions, but also the parties who may be responsible for undertaking such actions. Regulatory requirements may include rules for emergency response, liability allocation, site assessment, remedial investigation, feasibility studies, remedial action, post-remedial monitoring, and site reuse.
A genetically modified potato is a potato that has had its genes modified, using genetic engineering. Goals of modification include introducing pest resistance, tweaking the amounts of certain chemicals produced by the plant, and to prevent browning or bruising of the tubers. Varieties modified to produce large amounts of starches may be approved for industrial use only, not for food.
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