In the first of several class-action lawsuits pending against Syngenta, a federal-court jury awarded $217.7 million to farmers who blamed the seed company for a collapse in corn prices when China rejected cargoes of corn that included the genetically modified Syngenta strain. The Swiss-based company said it would appeal the verdict.
A trial involving 60,000 farmers is to begin next month in Minnesota. The Kansas City trial covered complaints by 7,000 growers. The verdict in Kansas may be a bellwether for the remaining lawsuits.
The law firm representing the Kansas farmers said that the eight-member jury “wanted to send a very strong signal to Syngenta” against selling GMO seed before key importing nations have approved the new strains, reported Harvest Public Media. Syngenta said the jury’s thinking would “deny American farmers access to future technologies even when they are fully approved in the United States.”
U.S. officials have prodded China, without much success, to synchronize its review and approval process for GMO crops with the leading innovators, including the United States. In an ironic twist, Syngenta is being purchased by state-owned ChemChina.
Class-action cases against Syngenta are pending in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Dakota, said Harvest Media. The Minnesota trial is scheduled to open on July 10.