Syngenta Corn Seed Lawsuits in Missouri
Syngenta is being sued by several of the top corn producers in the country for supposedly causing damage to the corn industry in the United States. Syngenta did so by selling a seed of corn known as MIR 162 that had been treated with the pesticide, Agrisure Viptera, which did not have approval for exportation to China, one of three biggest U.S. corn importers. Producers of corn yet to become involved in the mass tort are being urged to join now with the strength of hundreds of other cases.
The farmers that produced the Viptera Corn in the growth season of 2014 are included in the mass tort concerning Syngenta corn as plaintiffs. Other plaintiffs in the mass tort are exporters of corn, brokers, storage facilities, and other entities involved in the corn industry in the United States. The group of plaintiffs make the claim that if they knew that the corn would be rejected by China, they would not have become involved in the purchase, planting, harvesting, or selling of the corn.
Officials in China rejected U.S. corn by the millions of tons until recently because of the fear related to receiving the genetically modified MIR 162 seed of corn, which contains Viptera, a known pesticide. The genetically modified strain of corn was engineered as being protected against such things as corn earworms and black cutworms.
Syngenta Viptera Corn Seed
The Viptera seed was sold by Syngenta to U.S. farmers as early as 2010, as well as being approved the same year in South American countries like Argentina and Brazil. Allegedly unbeknownst to the U.S. farmers, the seed did not gain approval in China, which created one to three billion dollars in losses in 2013-2014 season of harvest. The country of China found the Viptera corn strain in several U.S. shipments in November of 2013. Consequently, the country began rejecting corn imported from the United States in February of 2014. As of October 2015, the country of China had rejected more than 130 million bushels imported from the U.S.
Damages have already been estimated to surpass 1 billion dollars for the final nine months of the marketing and advertising year ending August 31, in accordance with analysis done by the National Grain and Feed Association, a grain marketing and advertising trade group. The Vice Premier of China, Wang Yang, stated that after years of investigation, the corn seed was eventually approved for the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
Despite the approval of the corn seed, claims and lawsuits continued to erupt concerning the damages that had already taken place in the United States corn market. The claim continued to be that MIR 162 was marketed to U.S. farmers even though several countries including China would not buy it. China’s rejection of the MIR 162 corn seed not only affected the producers that grew it, but also the farmers that did not grow the seed due to the fact that the market was dramatically impacted with corn process being reduced and transferred to the grower as a loss.
Allegedly, Syngenta urged farmers to grow the MIR 162 corn in conjunction with other corn by planting the seed in parallel lines even though Syngenta had knowledge that the MIR 162 seed would not cross-pollinate with any other corn crops. This was done by the marketing campaign to widely spread the GMO seeds across the country, directly impacting the supply of corn for the entire country. In addition, other exports of corn were made hazardous due to the GMO corn not be approved by those other countries.
A mass tort was established to unite all those that suffered as a result of the actions of Syngenta. This drew together hundreds of cases of corn lawsuits in the country. The primary thing to prove in the mass tort against Syngenta is that Syngenta did cause the damages. The legal representatives of the plaintiffs must show that the loss of profit stemmed directly from the duplicitous actions committed by Syngenta.
Syngenta is encountering an expanding number of lawsuits concerning its production of a genetically modified corn seed that China has not authorized for import. Farmers have estimated losses of, at the very least, one billion dollars. Over 50 lawsuits have already been filed in 11 significant corn-growing states. Among these states are Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, with more than hundreds more being prepared. Attorneys representing a large group of farmers at the same time are filing some suits.
Exports of U.S. corn are down 85% this year in comparison to 2013 and which has driven down corn costs in accordance with the 13 suits filed in federal court in Des Moines, Iowa. A spokesman for Syngenta stated that the right of U.S. farmers to utilize the newest technologies to enhance income should not be dependent upon approval of other nations.
The lawsuits that have been proposed seek to compensate farmers for the claimed marketplace loss as well as funds to punish Syngenta. Given that several aspects have an effect on corn prices, the lawyers representing farmers need to prove the extent to which the Viptera trait is connected to descending corn prices.
Syngenta generated a multibillion dollar profit while promoting and selling two genetically modified strains of corn to famers in the U.S., even though Syngenta knew these genetically modified strains would cause problems for U.S. farmers.
To clarify, the value of U.S. corn is determined by U.S. corn farmers’ access to foreign markets. Syngenta, as well as the rest of the biotechnology industry, recognizes that if they promote and sell genetically modified seeds inside of the United States. prior to these seeds being authorized by significant export markets like China, these markets will reject U.S. crops and hurt U.S. farmers by dropping corn rates. According to this reason, Syngenta considers corn farmers as “stakeholders” in its enterprise. The biotech market has created “Stewardship Standards” that deal with this threat to U.S. farmers.
Despite this information about the threat posed to farmers, Syngenta sold two genetically modified corn seeds – Agrisure Viptera and Agrisure Duracade – prior to these seeds being approved by China. As a way to convince corn farmers to purchase these seeds, Syngenta reassured farmers that China would approve the product. Syngenta’s statements were false. China has only recently authorized Agrisure Viptera, but has yet to authorize Agrisure Duracade.
Although Syngenta has generated a multi-billion dollar profit from selling Viptera and Duracade, the outcome has already been catastrophic for U.S. corn farmers. This lawsuit is about making certain that Syngenta pays for the damages it has caused to the United States corn industry, as well as U.S. farmers.
The import block from China, a considerable U.S. corn export market, has decreased demand for U.S. corn around the globe. This declining demand has brought on a decrease within the marketplace cost for all U.S. corn, irrespective of its variety. Syngenta’s failure to take appropriate measures to make sure its Viptera corn was a viable product in the global economy has led to these lawsuits. The lawsuits against Syngenta seek to compensate U.S. farmers for the losses endured during their acquirement, use and sale of Viptera and Duracade.
If you are in Missouri and have suffered losses as a direct result of the MIR 162 corn seed, contact an experienced mass tort attorney at our experienced firm that can help you recover what you have lost due to this catastrophe. Do not wait to call and miss your opportunity to claim the compensation you are owed. A statute of limitations is in place and will prevent you from being able to join the lawsuit if you do not get your claim in before the deadline. Call us today to schedule your free consultation with our mass tort law firm.
