Horse Deaths Lead to ADM Feed Class Action Lawsuit

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Two U.S. horse owners sued Archer Daniels this week, accusing the company of selling contaminated feed that killed several of their horses and sickened others. Some of the ill horses had to later be euthanized while the remaining affected animals can no longer be safely ridden or worked due to their weakened hearts, the class action lawsuit alleges.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, through its subsidiary ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. (collectively, “ADM”), is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of animal feed.

“To cut costs, ADM manufactures horse feed products at facilities that also produce cattle feed containing monensin, a chemical additive used to increase weight and market value in cattle. While it may be useful in the cattle business, monensin is poisonous to horses — a fact well-known to ADM,” allege plaintiffs Beth Berarov and Annelisa Bindra in the ADM horse feed class action lawsuit.

Monensin is a supplement added to cattle feed. It kills bacteria and other parasites which helps cows grow faster. This allows cows to grow to larger sizes before they go to market, meaning more money for farmers. But in horses, this compound can cause heart failure and other health problems. According to the Archer Daniels lawsuit, “[m]onensin poisoning is generally only detectable in a live horse within a few days of consumption; after that, it usually cannot be detected until the horse is dead and a necropsy is performed.”

In fact, the FDA mandates that monesin-bearing products carry warning labels in order to discourage people from feeding monesin by accident, since it’s potentially dangerous to the hearts of horses. Additionally, the ADM horse feed class action lawsuit states that “monensin is toxic to humans and requires the use of protective clothing and a respirator.”

The lawsuit characterizes the substance as a poison, and says that small exposures can cause gradual damage to a horse, which creates the possibility that the horse could suddenly suffer heart failure, endangering both horse and rider. Researcher studies cited in the complaint found an LD50 as low as 1.38 mg. This means that horses who eat more than 1.38 mg of monensin per kg of the their bodyweight have a 50-percent chance of immediate death. According to the class action lawsuit, the damage from monensin is nearly undetectable and irreversible.

The plaintiffs in the Archer Daniels horse feed lawsuit allege that several of their horses died from monesin contamination, and several others had to be euthanized due to critical problems with their hearts—also allegedly stemming from exposure to monensin-contaminated feed. Berarov owns a facility where she cared for 13 of her own horses and stabled six others. In March of 2015, several of her horses began to fall ill. Eventually, every horse at her facility fell ill, leading her to have the feed tested and have the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development investigate. The investigation and analysis pointed to monesin poisoning, as did the results of a necropsy on one of the horses that was euthanized.

The other plaintiff, Bindra, had a horse named Dakota who fell ill after being stabled at a center where it was allegedly fed ADM–brand feed—specifically, ADM Alliance 12% Pellets and Patriot 12% Supreme Performance Horse Feeds. Dakota was one of several horses that died, allegedly showing symptoms of monesin exposure. Tests of the ADM horse feed allegedly detected the presence of monesin.

Potential Class Members in the ADM class action lawsuit could include anyone – other than Archer Daniels employees – who had a horse that either died or had to be euthanized after alleged exposure to monensin from ADM horse feed.

The plaintiffs are represented by Patrick Muench and John W. Barrnett of Bailey & Glasser, LLP.

The Archer Daniels ADM Horse Feed Class Action Lawsuit is Beth Berarov, et al., v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-07355, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: On Jan. 22, 2019, a federal judge recently determined that plaintiffs in an Archer Daniels class action don’t have the standing to claim their horse feed was contaminated.