You may have seen the ads on TV from lawyers looking for small town farmers. That’s because Kansas farmers are joining farmers from across the nation in suing an international agricultural company over genetically modified corn.
“What the claim is is that Syngenta sold strains of genetically modified corn which contaminated the United States corn supply,” said Dustin DeVaughn, DeVaughn James Law Firm. “Which caused prices to tank.”
These farmers were in federal court Wednesday for the first hearing in this case. It’s a case their lawyers say affects all of us.
First let’s explain what genetically modified corn is. The developers of the corn seed add DNA from other plans and sometimes even animals to make the seed hardier.
The lawsuit claims while only a handful of Kansas farmers used corn seed from maker Syngenta, it affected everybody. That’s because when those farmers sold their corn it got mixed in with everybody else’s corn crop, genetically modified or not. So countries that don’t accept genetically-modified crops wouldn’t buy any corn from Kansas farms and the price of corn dropped.
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“Essentially what Syngenta did, back in April 2012, is it misled corn producers and investors that foreign governments like China would allow GMO corn into their nations,” said DeVaughn. “And that turned out to be false.”
This case involves farmers from across the country. The first hearing was held in Kansas City as the court prepares to decide if this will be a class action suit.
Read full original article: Kansas farmers join lawsuit over GMO corn
