Syngenta

Seed company Syngenta faces lawsuits by at least 130 farmers in 13 states over its MIR 162 strain of genetically engineered corn, says DTN. A judicial panel in Charleston, SC, is to decide on Dec 4 if the cases should be transferred to a single federal court...

Seed company Syngenta says it acted responsibly in selling two strains of genetically engineered corn that are approved for cultivation in the United States although not allowed for import by China, says DTN.

Seed company Syngenta, whose genetically engineered corn is blamed for a disruption in U.S. corn exports to China, says it applied in 2010 to cultivate the same variety in China, says Reuters.

Class-action lawsuits asking $1 billion in damages from seed company Syngenta were filed in federal court Iowa, Illinois and and Nebraska.

Agribusiness behemoth Cargill sued Syngenta, the seed and chemical company in state court in Louisiana, blaming it for sales lost to China, said the St Paul Pioneer Press. Cargill says U.S. corn exports to China were effectively halted because Syngenta sold seed for a genetically engineered corn variety, known as MIR162 and Viptera, that is not approved for sale in China. In a statement, Cargill said Syngenta Seeds "put the ability of U.S. agriculture to serve global markets at risk, costing both Cargill and the entire U.S. agricultural industry significant damages."

Voters in Oregon agree by a 3-to-1 margin that foods made with genetically modified organisms should be labeled, says a poll commissioned by a Portland television station.

Chinese quarantine officials are barring imports of distillers dried grains from the United States because they may contain a genetically modified organism that is not approved by China, said Reuters.

The Vermont House overwhelmingly passed a law requiring labels on food made with genetically engineered ingredients and sent it to the governor, who is expected to sign it.

1. Environmental Working Group produces a GMO-free food guide. In a nutshell, it says, buy organic or verified GMO-free foods and steer away from food made with corn, soybeans, sugar and vegetable oils because most of the US supply comes from biotech crops.

Citing a new state law against foreign ownership of land in Arkansas, state Attorney General Tim Griffin ordered Syngenta, one of the world's largest seed companies, on Tuesday to sell 160 acres of farmland in northeastern Arkansas within two years. Gov. Sarah Sanders said Arkansas was the first state to take such action.