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Another decision in a class-action lawsuit has been made, this time in favor of the plaintiffs in the case. The case involved corn grown from a company called Syngenta which was genetically modified. Several shipments were then rejected from China, a large importer of U.S. corn because the Chinese government had not approved the two strains that were then mixed in with other U.S. corn shipments. The Washington Post reports on the settlement and details.
Tens of thousands of farmers, grain handling agencies, and ethanol producers will share in a $1.5 billion settlement reached against Syngenta.
Syngenta, a Swiss-based agriculture firm, introduced genetically modified corn seed called Viptera and Duracade for the 2011 growing season.
They introduced the seed before having the approval for import in China in 2014. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed that this decision cut off access to the lucrative China market and caused prices to drop for several years.
China rejected millions of tons of grain because Viptera and Duracade corn mixed in with other corn and made it impossible to know which grains were free of the traits modified by Syngenta.
The settlement was reached last Monday and still must be approved by a judge in Kansas. If approved, plaintiffs in the lawsuit will begin seeing payments as early as 2019.
Viptera was created with a trait that protects against several different kinds of pests such as earworms, cutworms, armyworms, and corn borers. Duracade provided protection against the corn rootworm.
Syngenta defended the GMO corn by saying that it prevented numerous pests and was fully approved by U.S. regulatory authorities.
Were you affected by the Viptera gene? Contact John Foy & Associates today for a consultation.
