St. Louis, Dec. 19 - A U.S. legal panel has consolidated more than a dozen lawsuits over genetically contaminated rice Tuesday, creating a single legal action that is one of the largest of its kind.
Hundreds of rice farmers in at least three states claim their profits were hurt after an experimental form of genetically altered rice escaped from test plots run by the German company Bayer CropScience AG.
The so-called Liberty Link rice wasn't approved for human consumption, and rice prices dropped after traces of it were found in U.S. grain elevators.
The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled the 12 similar cases should be consolidated to streamline litigation. Farmers from Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri filed the suits.
Another 21 similar lawsuits could be included in the main litigation, the panel ruled.
Bayer CropScience didn't immediately return calls seeking comment Tuesday.
St. Louis is the right venue for the rice lawsuit because its judges frequently hear cases over genetically altered crops, said Don Downing, an attorney representing 283 Missouri rice farmers in the case.
The St. Louis court has heard cases involving nearby Monsanto Co. (MON), the world's biggest developer of genetically altered seeds, Downing said.
Companies such as Monsanto and Bayer constantly test new breeds of genetically altered crops in open fields in the U.S. and elsewhere. The U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors the test plots to make sure the crops don't escape into mainstream supplies.
The Agriculture Department retroactively approved Liberty Link rice last month. Bayer said in a written statement it welcomed the decision. The rice was modified to be herbicide-tolerant, and Bayer said regulators have found it poses no human health or environmental concern.