Attorney General's News Release

May 3, 2001

Nixon sues Aventis for keeping vital information from Missouri farmers regarding StarLink corn restrictions

Jefferson City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon on Wednesday (May 2) filed a lawsuit against the maker of StarLink, a genetically modified seed corn, saying that vital information about restrictions on the corn's use was not provided to Missouri farmers. Nixon said the failure of Aventis Cropscience to provide the required information resulted in financial loss to not only StarLink growers, but also to neighboring farmers, grain elevators, investors and others.

"If Aventis had given farmers the information it was required to provide, it would have been much easier to keep StarLink from going beyond its approved uses and entering the human food supply or reaching overseas markets," Nixon said. "Aventis needs to be held accountable for these misrepresentations."

Aventis advertised and promoted StarLink to Missouri growers as a product that would provide superior European corn borer control, excellent cutworm protection, resistance to certain weed-killing herbicides and as a management tool for insect resistance. StarLink seed corn contains an insecticidal protein known as Cry9C. More than 18,000 acres of StarLink seed corn were planted in at least 45 Missouri counties in 2000, including St. Charles County, where Nixon filed the lawsuit.

When StarLink was registered for limited use with the Environmental Protection Agency in 1998, the EPA required the holder of the StarLink license — which is now Aventis — to ensure that purchasers:

• Be told that StarLink could be used for domestic feed and industrial non-food uses only; and
• Sign a "Grower's Agreement" containing requirements about the use restrictions and receive information and reminders about those restrictions at the time of delivery, planting and harvest.

Nixon said that Aventis failed to inform growers of the EPA restrictions placed on the use of StarLink seed corn and the corn produced from StarLink seed corn. As a result, Nixon said, StarLink growers, other farmers, elevator businesses and investors who have grown, stored or purchased corn which contains Cry9C — including corn that originally did not contain Cry9C but was contaminated with the protein — have been unable to sell the corn, use the corn for the purpose intended, or sell the corn for the price they would have received had it not been StarLink corn or otherwise contained Cry9C.

Nixon is asking the St. Charles County Circuit Court to grant preliminary and permanent injunctions against Aventis to prohibit the company from making misrepresentations or withholding information about StarLink from growers, including the information about its restricted uses.

The Attorney General also is asking the court to order Aventis to pay restitution to those Missourians who have suffered financial loss because of the company's misrepresentations; civil penalties to the state of up to $1,000 per violation; the costs of the investigation and prosecution; and any other costs or penalties the court finds to be appropriate.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818