Toxic Corn - StarLink

[Timber Loftis]

The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued preliminary approval for a $110 million settlement to compensate farmers for their losses after corn prices dropped due to the StarLink controversey. This applies to most farmers who planted StarLink.

Starlink first was approved in 1998. The corn produces the same protein as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt or Cry9C), which acts as in insecticide against the European corn borer. However, StarLink can cause allergic reactions. The product was only approved for animal feed and ethanol consumption (fuel for an ethanol plant), but due to cross-breeding between corn crops and corn transportation methods, it became mixed with other corn and ended up on your grocer's shelf. The ensuing semi-panic caused all yellow corn prices to drop, affecting the farmers who are members of the class action.

Note: if you are a farmer who used this stuff or saw his prices in corn fall, you may want to keep an eye/ear open for news reports telling you how you can collect under the settlement.

I summarized this info from an article in the Toxics Law Reporter, Vol. 18 No. 9, Feb. 27 '03.