A former Florida rancher’s legal fight reveals how Syngenta ignored evidence linking its herbicide paraquat to Parkinson’s disease, despite decades of scientific warnings and thousands of lawsuits alleging harm.
Evy Lewis reports for Investigate Midwest.
In short:
- Florida rancher John Platt, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, is among 6,000 people suing Syngenta, claiming its paraquat herbicide contributed to their illness.
- Internal records from Syngenta reveal that its scientists flagged paraquat’s neurotoxic potential as early as the 1950s, yet the company repeatedly worked to dismiss and discredit critical research.
- Despite global bans, paraquat remains widely used in the U.S., where the EPA’s recent review concluded insufficient evidence for a link to Parkinson’s; however, the agency agreed to reconsider its decision.
Key quote:
“We’ve seen our federal agencies being in much more of a reactive mode, waiting for people to get sick, waiting for years and years of evidence of real harm being caused before they take action … Other countries don’t operate that way.”
— Laura Friedman, California assemblymember
Why this matters:
For families, healthcare workers, and scientists looking to protect vulnerable communities, the paraquat fight zeroes in on a larger issue: corporate denial and regulatory inertia. Read more: Move to consolidate US paraquat litigation as cases mount against Syngenta.
