From January 3, 2001
Non-GM Farmers
Sue Aventis for StarLink Corn Contamination
The genetically engineered StarLink corn which illegally entered the food supply after being approved by the Environmental Protection Agency only for animal feed, is once again causing problems for the Aventis corportation, the corn's manufacturer. Farmers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of a nationwide group of farmers against Aventis for the contamination of their corn crop with the genetically modified corn. The farmers are seeking damages and calling on the company to decontaminate their farms.
According to Farm Progress, the lawsuit seeks nationwide class action status on behalf of all farmers who cultivated and harvested non-StarLink corn in the United States for commercial purposes from 1998 to the present. The lawsuit alleges that there has been widespread contamination of the United States corn crop by the StarLink product, both through cross-pollination of corn crops in farmers' fields as well as in grain elevators and other corn storage facilities. It also alleges that this contamination was directly caused by Aventis' "intentional, reckless, and/or negligent" conduct. This resulted in substantial damages to members of the class by virtue of, among other things, losses in export and domestic markets for United States corn and the consequent decline in sales prices for United States farmers' corn in these markets.