Dive Brief:
- Kansas farmers are the latest group to join in a mass of lawsuits taken against seed-maker Syngenta.
- Farmers claim that Syngenta's GMO corn "contaminated" the U.S. corn supply and drove down prices, as many countries wouldn't purchase corn from Kansas farmers in fear of buying GMO corn.
- In the face of these lawsuits, Syngenta asserts that it enables "the right of growers to have access to approved new technologies that can increase both their productivity and crop yields."
Dive Insight:
Syngenta has been at the center of several lawsuits involving farmers across the country, including one suit filed by Cargill and another by Archer Daniels Midland Co. Additionally, Syngenta filed a lawsuit against Bunge, saying the company put forth false advertising when it refused to accept one of Syngenta's corn strains back in 2011, though Syngenta dropped the suit last month. Also just last month, China lifted its ban on Syngenta's Viptera strain of GMO corn, so the news developments concerning Syngenta likely won't let up anytime soon.