Iowa lawsuits accuse Syngenta over rejected GMO crops

Iowa farmers and companies are suing Syngenta AG, claiming they suffered financial losses when China rejected corn shipments containing a genetically modified seed developed by the agribusiness giant but not approved for use by China.

Sixteen growers and businesses filed suit Monday seeking monetary and punitive damages from Syngenta, which is based in Switzerland and has operations in Iowa. Including previous legal action, the company now faces challenges from more than 100 farmers and commodity traders, including Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.

"Syngenta has caused damages to U.S. farmers, grain handlers and exporters," the latest lawsuits allege. "Syngenta's conduct in marketing, distributing and selling unapproved corn seed violates the legal standards of the marketplace because the primary market risk falls on U.S. farmers, grain handlers and exporters, not on Syngenta."

Demand for products that don’t contain genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, is exploding.

Many food companies are seeking certification that their products don’t have any genetically modified ingredients, and not just the brands popular in the health food aisle. Even plain Cheerios, that iconic cereal from General Mills, no longer contains GMOs.

“We currently are at over $8.5 billion in annual sales of verified products,” said Megan Westgate, executive director of the Non-GMO Project, the main supplier of non-GMO labels.

To receive the label, a product has to be certified as containing ingredients with less than 1 percent genetic modification. Westgate says that’s a realistic standard, while totally GMO-free is not. She says natural foods stores began the process of defining a standard, involving other interested players along the way, including consumers. Now, General Mills is just one of the big food companies selling non-GMO products.

Sales of food labeled as “Non-GMO” ballooned to over $3 billion in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Interestingly, with all of this traction in the natural sector,” Westgate said, “we’re increasingly seeing more conventional companies coming on board and having their products verified.”

Labeling food products as genetically (GMO) engineered should not affect US consumer prices, advocates of GMO labeling told Sputnik Tuesday.

Syracuse.com recently reported in “Breakthrough at SUNY-ESF” that researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry are growing 10,000 genetically engineered (GE) American chestnut trees to be distributed widely when approved.

Food and beverage industry analyst, Darren Seifer stated that 76 percent of Americans have little to no awareness of what genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are.

In a small victory against GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), a mayor of a town in Florida has called for GMO free vending machines in all the city owned buildings.

Peter Bober, the mayor of Hollywood, Florida, has passed a new mandate that will require all of the 45 vending machines that the city owns to offer GMO free choices. The mandate will also require those vending machines to include healthier offerings that meet recommendations from the American Heart Association for healthier snack and drink options in the work place.

This is just one of the many measures that have been taken around the globe, as consumers, governments, and activists take steps against GMOs and demand healthier, more natural food. Other cities in Florida, including Hallandale Beach and Miami Beach, have passed local resolutions to require GMO labeling in their towns, and they are not alone.

The food industry is likely to find a more receptive Congress come January in its fight against mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods.

With three new council members weighing in for the first time, the Hawaii County Council on Wednesday is scheduled to decide whether to appeal a federal court ruling overturning the county’s ban on growing genetically modified crops in open-air conditions.

The FDA issued voluntary guidance for labeling GMO foods in 2001 and has basically been inactive on the topic ever since. Since the agency has for years neglected citizen petitions to require the mandatory labeling of GMOs, a movement is afoot to introduce bills on the state level. In 2012 and 2013,

The Yes on Measure 92 campaign is ending its efforts today. While Measure 92 will not emerge victorious in this election, our growing movement to label genetically engineered foods is neither defeated nor discouraged.

On Tuesday we went to court in a final attempt to have 4,600 uncounted ballots opened and counted in this race. Judge Kantor agreed that leaving 4,600 ballots uncounted in this election will cause irreparable harm to those voters and to the Measure 92 campaign. But he ultimately ruled that Oregon law didn’t allow him to issue the order to stop count.

More than 4,600 valid ballots rejected by elections officials remain uncounted. Those voters did everything right, completing, signing and returning their ballots on time. If their voices could be heard we believe it would result in victory for Measure 92.