Twenty states recently have joined Syngenta corn class action lawsuits that accuse Syngenta Corp. of attempting to sell genetically engineered corn to China before the country approved the new corn seeds. The class action lawsuits allege that China’s rejection of the GMO corn led to a multi-billion dollar loss for American farmers.

Syngenta is based in Switzerland and created a genetically engineered corn called Viptera in 2011. Viptera is more officially called MIR162. One Arkansas Syngenta lawsuit alleged that the farmers believed that China Viptera approval was forthcoming because of what Syngenta told them so they purchased Viptera corn seeds and planted them for harvest. However, after China refused to grant Viptera approval, the farmers lost a huge profit. Farmers and other workers in the U.S. farm industry are seeking compensation for losses related to Syngenta’s actions.

Another proposed Syngenta corn class action lawsuit stated that the company encouraged farmers to plant Viptera corn next to other corn seeds that were not genetically engineered. This potential cross contamination has led to China to reject all corn shipments from the U.S.

It is estimated that China’s rejection of Syngenta Viptera corn will cost U.S. farmers between $1 and $3 billion. China is the third-largest purchaser of American corn. Between 2012-2013, China bought 5 million tons. However, sales with China has decreased by 85%, according to one Syngenta corn class action lawsuit.

Syngenta GMO Corn Class Action Lawsuits

States involved in Syngenta GMO corn class action lawsuits are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

These states represent 86% of America’s corn. Syngenta’s actions may have put thousands if not millions of U.S. farmers at financial risk. An attorney representing plaintiffs in one class action lawsuit stated that Syngenta “was well aware of the catastrophic financial harm their actions could bring to U.S. corn growers.”

The Syngenta class action lawsuit stated that Syngenta “had been previously warned by industry participants not to introduce another MIR genetic trait because of lack of approval in export markets, and the devastating consequences that could occur from such premature commercialization.” Allegedly, Syngenta moved forward without Viptera approval in order to have a monopoly on the MIR162 patent and misled the farmers as to when (if ever) China would approve the new genetically engineered corn seeds.

“These events show corporate greed at its worst,” said one Syngenta corn class action lawsuit.

Syngenta allegedly was or should have been aware of the fact that China had a “zero tolerance” policy for unapproved GMO corn. This means that China would “reject grain imports from the U.S. upon detecting the presence of even trace amounts of unapproved bio-engineered genetic trait in U.S. grain shipments,” said a Kansas-based Syngenta corn class action lawsuit.

Syngenta may be held liable for misleading and prematurely selling Viptera to corn farmers,  exporters, brokers, resellers, and anyone else who was involved in the corn planting and/or selling process.

The Syngenta Class Action Lawsuits reported on in this article are Case No. 2:14-cv-02571 filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas and Case No. 4:14-cv-01908 filed in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri in the Eastern Division.