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For generations, American farms have powered the countrys food, feed, and fuel. Now, crops like corn and soybeans are at the core of homegrown industrial innovation. From adhesives and cleaners to renewable fuels, manufacturers are finding new uses for agricultural inputs in place of traditional materials. The crops themselves havent changed, buttheyre now entering new value chains and reaching industries they havent historically served. This evolution matters because more manufacturers are rethinking where and how they source materials. As companies look for inputs that are reliable, cost-effective, and produced closer to home, agriculture offers an overlooked advantage. The opportunity isnt about changing what we grow. Its about making agriculture a more connected, valuable part of the manufacturing economy. Biomanufacturing uses tools like fermentation, molecular science, and biotechnology to convert plants and other living organisms into industrial materials. The results are already embedded in daily life, in packaging, construction materials, personal care products, and more. For example, dextrose made from corn can replace formaldehyde in insulation, reducing indoor emissions. Corn-derived adhesives are being used in cardboard packaging to replace petroleum-based glue. Across the U.S., fast-growing infrastructure is supporting the production of biobased materials like these at commercial scale. New and retrofitted facilities are turning crops into renewable materials, supported by advancements in digital traceability, logistics, and science that link farms to industrial sectors theyve never served before. Three forces are accelerating this growth: Scientific advances in fermentation, stronger demand for U.S.-based supply chains, and federal investment in domestic production. Together, these forces are expanding what crops can do and creating new value chains across the economy. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the biobased products industry contributed $489 billion to the U.S. economy in 2021, employing nearly 4 million people. For farmers, this shift represents a rare thing: More demand without more complexity. Theyre not being asked to grow new crops or change how they farm. Instead, new industrial markets are emerging for what they already produce, offering pricing stability, new demand channels, and potential premiums for quality and consistency. These new pathways for crops are often shorter and more direct. ADM has a long-standing legacy of bridging the gap between agriculture and industry, connecting producers with buyers they might not otherwise reach, including fermentation companies and packaging manufacturers. That kind of access can translate to lower risk, steadier returns, and more choices at harvest. In this way, agriculture is taking on a more strategic role in the American industrial landscape. The national push for lower emissions, greater economic resilience, and secure domestic supply chains aligns with the unique capabilities of U.S. farms. We have the crops, the producers, and increasingly, the infrastructure to lead. Feeding people will always come first. But in todays economy, the same crops that support food and fuel can also support cleaner, more sustainable industrieswithout forcing a tradeoff. For producers, manufacturers, and the industries between them, the value of American agriculture is only growing. Chris Cuddy is senior vice president and global president of the Carbohydrate Solutions unit at ADM.
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E-Commerce
On the afternoon of September 10, shortly after right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in front of a crowd at Utah Valley University, videos of the Turning Point USA cofounder getting shot in the neck flooded social media. As the news traveled fast, so did the videos. Unfortunately, users who did not wish to see the graphic content often unwittingly saw it anyway. “How the fuck is that Charlie Kirk video the first thing I see on Instagram when I opened it?” one user shared on X. The viral videos, which show the moment of the attack from various angles, as well as blood gushing from Kirk following the bullet’s impact, have found their way onto the feeds of many userswho are now reporting emotional distress. “Do not watch the Charlie Kirk upclose video. It auto-played on my timeline and I am unwell. Omg. I implore youdo not watch,” one user shared on Threads. Another X user echoed the sentiment, saying: “For those who haven’t seen the video of Charlie Kirk, please turn off Twitter. I really wish I hadn’t seen it.” During the immediate aftermath of the incident, many users flocked to Reddit to learn what was happening. In a series of now-deleted Reddit threads reviewed by Fast Company, several users reported regret for watching the video, urging others to abstain from doing so. Despite pleas for the video to be taken down or put behind content warnings, the videos are still easily accessible online. For instance, as of this writing, the video could still be found on X and Instagramin some cases with a content warning if clicked on. Still, if appearing on the feed, the videos would auto-play with no warning. The auto-play feature is the default setting on most of the popular social media platforms, although most of them offer users the option to turn it off. One notable exception is Metas Threadswhich was launched in 2023and currently offers no way to disable auto-play videos. “Incredibly concerning” A week before the shooting, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a research initiative, published a report that found graphic “fight” content was being pushed to an Instagram account set up to look like it belonged to a teenage userthis, despite the platform’s safety settings for teens The morning after the Kirk incident, the same account used for the report, which says it was set up by someone born in 2009, found the graphic shooting video upon searching “Charlie Kirk Video,” auto-playing with no content warning. (Fast Company reviewed a screen recording of the experiment.) “When you have one of the biggest technology companies on the planet explicitly telling parents that it keeps [teen] accounts safe from that content, yet is pushing graphic assassination videos to teens, that is incredibly concerning,” Katie Paul, director of TTP, tells Fast Company. With videos of Kirk’s killing still showing up on children’s social media accounts meant to have safeguards that limit sensitive and graphic content, it comes as no surprise that they remain on the feeds of adults as well. But advocates for social media safety say large platforms should be doing a better job of protecting users from viewing the content accidentallyor at least warning them when something is explicit. “They’re a public service,” Stephen Balkam, founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, says of the platforms. “They have huge responsibilities for what they allow on their platforms.” Balkam noted that social media sites have taken initiatives to better police violent content in the past. He cites an instance in 2014, when videos depicting beheadings from the terrorist group ISIS circulated widely across platforms, sparking discussions about the need for heavier content moderation. During the COVID pandemic, social media companies were further pressured to get more aggressive about dangerous misinformation during the health crisis. However, companies like X (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook and Instagram) have since shifted toward less aggressive efforts. When asked about the video circulating on its platforms, a Meta spokesperson referred Fast Company to the companys policies on violent and graphic content, saying those guidelines apply in this case. The guidelines say Meta removes “the most graphic content and adds warning labels to other types of content so that people are aware it may be sensitive before they click through.” Representatives for Google-owned YouTube said they are “closely monitoring our platform and prominently elevating news content on the homepage, in search and in recommendations, to help people stay informed.” Fast Company reached out to X but did not receive a response at the time of publishing. Mental health impact With many users reporting distress, experts and advocates are raising concerns over the long-term effects of exposure to violence. “What we have found over the years is that repeated exposure to graphic images can have negative psychological and physical health consequences,” Roxane Cohen Silver, professor of psychology, medicine, and public health at the University of California, Irvine, tells Fast Company. Silver has previously researched the mental and physical impact of stressful events and seeing graphic and violent content, including footage from the Boston Marathon bombing and the ISIS beheading videos. “I certainly would encourage people to recognize that there can be psychological consequences of this kind of exposure, and monitor and moderate that exposure themselves,” she adds. The impact on viewers may lead to difficulty falling asleep, nightmares, and other forms of acute stress, which may turn into physical symptoms due to continuous watching. Balkam also noted concerns over prolonged exposure to violent content, which he points out can lead to desensitization or even insight further violence. “So it’s about as bad as it gets,” he adds. “And for this to happen at a time when troops are on the streets of [Washington, D.C.] and maybe coming to your city. It just heightens the sense of, Oh, my God, where are we going as a country?” Paul echoed concerns over the larger impacts of extreme graphic imagery boosted by social media. “This is not just an epidemic of violence in America that we have to deal with, but also the algorithmic amplification of that violent content to people who have no interest in seeing it,” she says.
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E-Commerce
Generation Alpha is poised to redefine industries, reshape digital culture, and drive innovation like never before.
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