Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only approved the StarLink strain for animal feed and industrial use, farmers say Aventis and Starlink distributors failed to notify them of all precautions necessary to prevent cross fertilization or mixing with other varieties grown for human consumption.

Aventis has pledged to pay 25 cents per bushel to farmers for the banned corn, and five to 10 cents per bushel for non-StarLink corn that has been mixed in with Starlink. This is well below the $2.00 a bushel price farmers currently receive for corn.

Affected farmers have initiated two class-action lawsuits against Aventis for damages incurred.The settlement is estimated to cost Aventis at least $100 million, and possibly much more.

The ban on StarLink contaminated food products has proved difficult to enforce. As recently as January 18 the Japanese government reported finding contamination in food shipments that supposedly had been inspected in the United States. Aventis fired three top officials, including the president of its U.S. division, in wake of the StarLink debacle.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home