Supermarketer to the World: The Story of Dwayne Andreas, CEO of Archer Daniels Midland

Veteran New Yorker writer Kahn profiles Illinois philanthropic agri-industrialist Dwayne O. Andreas, 73, whose Archer Daniels Midland international food company grosses $5 billion a year in corn, wheat, soybeans and such by-products as ethanol and degradable plastics. Though little known to the public, Andreas has been called ``the world's most successful businessman'' and, in the forefront of U.S.-U.S.S.R. business activity, now rivals the late Armand Hammer as Moscow's main American. At home, as detailed here, Andreas personally persuaded the heads of both Pepsi and Coca-Cola to use ADM fructose instead of sugar in their bestselling soft drinks. A champion of tree-planting to save America's topsoil, he urgently promotes soybean development programs to eliminate world hunger. Andreas presses his agenda through a wide spectrum of influential friends that includes Pope John Paul, Tip O'Neill, King Carlos of Spain, Lane Kirkland, David Rockefeller and Mother Teresa. (Sept.)