; declo idaho headquarters boise idaho key people j. r. simplot founder bill whitacre president and ceo scott r. simplot chairman products frozen food processing fertilizer manufacturing cattle feeding and other businesses related to agriculture number of employees 10 000 website http www.simplot.com the j. r. simplot company commonly referred to as simplot was founded in 1929 by 20 year old john richard simplot near the small agricultural community of declo in south central idaho . during the early 1940s the business expanded serving the military dehydrated onions and potatoes during world war ii . the firm was legally incorporated as the j. r. simplot company in 1955 . company founder j. r. simplot 1909 2008 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 ; by 2005 it supplied more than half of all french fries for the fast food chain . simplot also produces fertilizers for agriculture 1 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 59th in private companies by forbes magazine in 2004 and has branches in australia canada mexico china and several other regions . one of the major plants is in caldwell idaho . a view of the simplot plant in caldwell idaho circa 1930 1945 . the caption in the image states world s largest dehydrating plant . 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 . contents 1 philanthropy 2 environmental record 3 genetically modified potatoes 4 brands 5 see also 6 references 7 external links philanthropy edit since its founding j. r. simplot company has contributed to numerous local organizations and causes including ronald mcdonald house 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 . additionally 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 . 2 in 2009 simplot company was awarded the spirit of treasure valley award by the united way of treasure valley . 3 environmental record edit in february 2002 simplot agreed to buy equipment and pay penalties related to an unreported release of 80 000 pounds of sulfur 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 . 4 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 . 5 in june 2005 j.r. simplot agreed to pay a 4550 fine for violating the federal insecticide fungicide and rodenticide act in a settlement with the epa . the company was investigated for misbranded pesticide containers . 6 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 . 7 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 . 8 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 . 9 in june 2012 simplot was strongly criticized and mocked on the daily show for dumping selenium that caused mutated fish in idaho water then trying to get the government to allow them to dump even more selenium . it was implied that they were manipulating elected officials and controlled the government in idaho . aasif mandvi covered the story pretending to make favorable statements about the company due to fear of violent or economic retaliation from it . 10 in 2015 the company was featured in the segment the return of the simplot conspiracy covering the unfounded opposition to simplot s innate potato . 11 genetically modified potatoes edit simplot developed the genetically modified innate potato which was approved by the usda in 2014 12 and the fda in 2015 . 13 14 15 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 . 16 17 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 . 16 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 and two proprietary varieties . modifications of each variety involved two transformations one for each of the two new traits . 18 the organization food and water watch successfully petitioned mcdonald s to reject the newly marketed innate potatoes . 19 20 brands edit edgell frozen vegetables leggo s italian dishes ally salmon seakist tuna john west tuna harvest heat and eat chiko rolls i & j frozen meats best products fertilizer apex polyon products fertilizer jacklin seed grass seed bird s eye australia and new zealand frozen fish vegetables potatoes and meals innate potatoes chicken tonight australia and new zealand raguletto australia and new zealand see also edit list of companies based in idaho references edit brandt richard 1990 09 03 . j.r. simplot still hustling after all these years . business week 3176 60 65 . issn 0007 7135 . simplot make mark with impactful philanthropy . simplot make mark with impactful philanthropy . bill dunbar 2002 02 20 . simplot settles emergency notification case . united states environmental protection agency . laura gentile 2004 02 12 . j.r. simplot agrees to pay epa 525 000 to resolve clean air act violations . united states environmental protection agency . chris gebhardt 2005 06 06 . epa reaches 4 550 settlement with j.r. simplot for misbranding pesticide . united states environmental protection agency . understanding simplots mutant fish . dead link five companies receive state earth day awards . miners conservationists join to save river trout . a simple plot . the return of a simplot conspiracy the daily show with jon stewart video clip comedy central retrieved 2016 08 09 tracy tennille november 7 2014 . genetically modified potato wins approval from usda . wall street journal . introducing innate technology . simplotplantsciences.com . j. r. simplot company . retrieved 22 april 2015 . j.r. simplot company petition 13 022 01p for determination of non regulated status for innatetm potatoes with low acrylamide potential and reduced black spot bruise events e12 and e24 russet burbank ; f10 and f37 ranger russet ; j3 j55 and j78 atlantic ; g11 g ; h37 and h50 h pdf . aphis.usda.gov . united states department of agriculture animal and plant health inspection service . march 2014 . retrieved 22 april 2015 . fda concludes arctic apples and innate potatoes are safe for consumption . fda.gov . u.s. food and drug administration . march 20 2015 . retrieved 22 april 2015 . a b pollack andrew 7 nov 2014 . u.s.d.a. approves modified potato . next up french fry fans . nytimes.com . the new york times company homesearch . retrieved 22 april 2015 . glenza jessica 8 nov 2014 . innate potato heads for market but gm watchdogs chip away at simplot success . theguardian.com . guardian news and media limited . retrieved 22 april 2015 . von mogel karl haro 8 may 2013 . q & a with haven baker on simplot s innate potatoes . biofortified.org . biology fortified inc. retrieved 10 may 2015 . charles dan 13 january 2015 . gmo potatoes have arrived . but will anyone buy them . npr.org . npr . retrieved 5 may 2015 . gunther marc 4 december 2013 . mcdonald s gmo dilemma why fries are causing such a fuss . theguardian.com . guardian news and media limited . retrieved 22 april 2015 . external links edit official website authority control worldcat identities viaf 124355886 lccn n82065023 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title simplot & oldid 744509879 categories agriculture companies of the united statesagriculture in idahoprivately held companies based in idahocompanies based in idahofood and drink companies established in 19291929 establishments in idahohidden categories all 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