Farmers awarded $2M for biotech rice accident

Farmers awarded $2M for biotech rice accident

ST. LOUIS -- Bayer CropScience must pay two Missouri farmers more than $2 million in damages resulting from the company's accidental release of experimental biotech rice into the food supply. A federal jury in St. Louis issued its verdict Friday. The jury decision was the first verdict in several lawsuits filed in response to Bayer's accidental release of Liberty Link in 2006. The rice wasn't approved for human consumption, and export prices dropped sharply after traces of it were discovered in U.S. grain bins. One Missouri farmer was awarded nearly $2 million while the other received $53,000. The farmers argued that they lost the income when the release caused prices to crash and drained value from the 2006 crop they hoped to sell overseas. Bayer said it is looking over the verdict before responding.