Syngenta

Background

Syngenta is an agrochemical company that manufactures pesticides and seeds. It is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The company invests US$1.3 billion in research and development annually.¹

It is owned by Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned company, along with pesticide company ADAMA and fertilizer company SinoFert.²

In 2020, Syngenta launched a new tagline: “Helping farmers. Fighting climate change.” The firm states that agriculture can help address climate change and be part of the solution by sequestering carbon in the soil.³

Syngenta CEO Erik Fyrwald has said that following the COVID-19 pandemic, the world must have a “green economic recovery with sustainability at its core” and that “we must ensure that the recovery is one that is both more sustainable and gives us a food supply more resilient to the effects of climate change.” Fyrwald stressed that agriculture is “part of the solution.”⁴

Syngenta has 30,000 employees in over 100 countries. Its crop protection sales were US$13.2 billion and seed sales were US$3.6 billion in 2021,⁵ up from US$11.1 billion and US$3.2 billion in 2020.⁶

In June 2020, Syngenta announced the launch of Syngenta Group, a new organization that combined Syngenta AG, headquartered in Switzerland; ADAMA, based in Israel; and the agricultural businesses of Sinochem, based in China.⁷

Stance on Climate Change

In 2019, Fyrwald told the Financial Times that “climate change is the most important issue we face,” adding that “agriculture is part of the problem, so it has to become part of the solution.”⁸

In April 2019, Syngenta entered into a partnership with The Nature Conservancy.⁹ In a public policy position document on climate change, Syngenta says the collaboration has already allowed it to “expand our global efforts on sustainable agriculture, giving us the opportunity to apply and test innovative new techniques to enhance soil health, protect natural habitats and enhance carbon sequestration in agriculture.”¹⁰

In March 2020, Syngenta commissioned a survey of large-scale farmers in the United States, France, China, Brazil, India and across Africa by market research firm IPSOS Mori. According to the results, “72 percent of larger farmers are worried about the impact climate change will have on crop yields, animal health and their ability to do business over the next five years.”¹¹

Syngenta’s 2020 Good Growth Plan “puts the urgent fight against climate change and biodiversity loss at the heart of farming’s productive future and the global economic recovery.” Syngenta first launched its Good Growth Plan in 2013.¹²

In a website post titled “Strive for carbon neutral agriculture,” Syngenta states that it has “long worked with farmers to increase soil health and biodiversity, two key pillars of regenerative agriculture,” and that its Good Growth Plan will see the company “extending our focus to measure the amount of carbon dioxide that is captured in the soil, helping farmers manage and reduce the greenhouse gases contributed by agriculture.” The page lists three targets Syngenta has set to “[add] to our efforts towards carbon neutral agriculture:” to “Measure and enable carbon capture and mitigation in agriculture, “enhance biodiversity and soil health on 3 million hectares of rural farmland every year,” and “Reduce the carbon intensity of our operations by 50% by 2030.”¹³

Syngenta promotes “climate smart agriculture,” which it describes as “a set of practices that help farmers work sustainably. It includes conservation agriculture practices. These practices aim to reduce soil disturbance, enhance permanent soil cover and implement crop rotation.”¹⁴

In a website post outlining how the agriculture industry can use carbon sequestration to combat climate change, Syngenta states, “Climate change is already causing problems for farmers. Climate smart agriculture is important because it helps farmers adapt and build resilience to climate change. It can increase agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes.”¹⁵

In 2018, Syngenta became a founding member of the Climate Smart Agriculture 100 project, which brought together 100 leading food and agribusiness companies to make “a measurable science-based commitment against climate change.”¹⁶

Prior to this, a 2017 report by Corporate Accountability, titled “Polluting Paris: How Big Polluters are Undermining Global Climate Policy,” found that climate smart agriculture was being used by corporations including Syngenta to “greenwash environmentally devastating practices” and that those corporations were influencing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through “direct lobbying and trade association membership.”¹⁷

During a May 2021 panel titled “Trust Along Global Food Chains” at the St. Gallen Symposium, Fyrwald said that farmers being “part of the solution to climate change is really important.” He also said that “Crops capture carbon from the air and pull it into the soil,” and that “We need to do that in ways that keep that carbon in the soil and enable the 12 percent greenhouse gas emissions that come from agriculture to head towards zero.” Fyrwald added that regenerative agriculture is a key to the industry’s plans to address climate change.¹⁸

Fyrwald was speaking during a panel discussion that also featured Dr. Louise O. Fresco, the President of Wageningen University and a Syngenta board member; and Stefan Scheiber, CEO of the Bühler Group, which manufactures equipment for food production. Syngenta Group was a main partner of the symposium.¹⁹

Prior to the UN Food Systems Summit in September 2021, Simon Winter — Executive Director of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture — wrote about increasing incomes for smallholder farmers while addressing climate change, saying:²⁰

“Achieving living incomes is very complex, but it’s possible. The efforts will be built on sand, however, if we neglect the environmental pillar of sustainability. The biggest challenge here is climate change. Smallholder farming must become better able to deal with increasing weather extremes and the associated shocks. Necessary work here includes improving soil health, using resources more efficiently, reducing food losses after harvest and insuring crops against drought or flooding.”

Winter added: “Smallholders also need rapid economic benefits. They simply don’t have the financial stamina to wait for the ‘long term.’ Such economic gains need to come fast and predictably, from a combination of public and private incentives, as well as farmers’ own progress.”²¹

Stance on EU Farm to Fork Strategy

Since 2020, EU agricultural policy has centered around the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F), the EU’s plan for transitioning to a more sustainable food system. Farm to Fork, which is part of the European Green Deal, includes 2030 targets to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50 percent, reduce the use of fertilizers by 20 percent, and increase the amount of land under organic farming to 25 percent.

Syngenta has criticized the EU’s targets in its Farm to Fork strategy.

In October 2021, days before the European Parliament’s vote on Farm to Fork, a website “powered by Bayer and Syngenta” called Swiss Food published an article titled, “Agricultural production in the EU to drop by 20 percent”. It claimed, “The European Green Deal would reduce the amount of agricultural production in the EU and lower farmers’ incomes. At the same time, the EU would import more agricultural goods, and consumers would pay higher prices. Moreover, land use would increase in the rest of the world. This has been confirmed by several studies.”²²

The key study cited was funded and guided by CropLife Europe and CropLife International – of which both Bayer and Syngenta are members – and involved “other stakeholders in the food supply chain”. The article did not mention the funding provided by the two industry groups.²³

In a sponsored article published on the Euractiv website in January 2022, Syngenta Crop Protection’s Regional Director, EAME, Alexandra Brand, warned of “serious unintended consequences of the strategy’s approach to setting targets for the reduction of crop protection and fertilizer use.”²⁴

A similar article on Syngenta’s US website in July 2021, stated, “The European Union’s (EU) Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F) might have admirable climate goals — but the price tag for farmers and the global population is high.²⁵

Both articles cited impact studies looking at the economic and other effects of implementing the Farm to Fork strategy. The Euractiv article stated, “Lower yields, higher food prices, unviable incomes for farmers, and fewer opportunities to export produce are all hard to swallow, but that is what a recent impact assessment from Wageningen University concluded.”²⁶ However, Syngenta’s article failed to mention that the Wageningen study had been paid for, “supervised” and “guided” by a number of industry trade groups of which Syngenta is a member.²⁷ At the time, Wageningen’s President was also a non-executive director of Syngenta’s board.²⁸

The article was published the day before a joint hearing between the European Parliament’s Environment and Agriculture committees, which examined the impacts of the Farm to Fork Strategy, with authors of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and WUR papers.²⁹

The studies cited in both Syngenta’s articles have been criticized by many scientists and NGOs. The European Commission released a statement arguing that these and other industry-funded assessments were “not able to assess the full impacts of the two strategies and predict the future.” For instance, it stated, “the future consumer behavioural changes, the impact of research and innovation or technological uptake in the agricultural sector have not, or partially, been taken into account.”³⁰ The studies also did not account fully, or at all, for potential benefits for the sector, e.g. pollination from greater biodiversity, or the comparative costs of taking no action.³¹Lobbying watchdog group Corporate Europe Observatory has argued that the industry used the studies to “scaremonger about economic losses while painting an unfair picture”.³²

In its tweets about the Euractiv article, Syngenta argued that data showing the potential for yield falls and higher prices due to Farm to Fork targets were “a golden opportunity for the Ag sector & policy makers to urgently step-up & innovate for the future.”³³ The article itself promoted regenerative agriculture, digital agriculture, precision technologies, new breeding technologies and biologicals such as biocontrols and biostimulants. It argued for a change in regulatory approach, stating, “It currently takes up to 11 years for any crop protection substance to arrive on the market, and pests and diseases are not waiting. We need to see a broad choice of biological products available for farmers with a modern fast-track, risk-based regulatory system.”³⁴

The article on Syngenta’s U.S. website focused on the global impacts of Farm to Fork. It stated:³⁵

“Lower yields mean more people go hungry. […] To put it into numbers, a recent study by ERS [US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service] shows that if the F2F Strategy is adopted globally, gross farm incomes will decrease by 34%. Per capita food costs in the U.S. will increase by $512. Globally, they’ll increase by $450 per capita. Furthermore, ERS forecasts 185 million more people would go hungry.” It also argued that the EU Farm to Fork represented “a harder way to farm”, and argued, “The F2F Strategy restricts farmer options and impedes farmers’ right to choose how they farm. It’ll start in the EU only but could quickly begin to impact global production.”

It also argued that it would “affect international markets for agricultural commodities,” including those in the U.S.. It quoted Mary Kay Thatcher, senior manager of Federal Government and Industry Relations at Syngenta:³⁶

“Farm to Fork isn’t something that’s just going to affect European farmers. It could easily limit the ability for the U.S. farmer to export products to those countries. There’s no question that the EU will further limit the use of pesticides on imported crops, and U.S. farmers need to understand what’s going on. […] Prices are likely to fall if this goes through because it’ll push our exports down and the EU is our 5th biggest trade partner.”

In March 2022, Corporate Europe Observatory stated that Syngenta was one of the pesticide companies involved in “a counter-lobby of huge proportions” against the EU Farm to Fork strategy. One example given was an April 2021 meeting between the cabinet of European Commission’s Vice President Frans Timmermans’ cabinet and Syngenta, in which Syngenta suggested that the Commission should target soil carbon and biodiversity directly rather than setting “proxy targets” on pesticides.³⁷

In September 2022, Euractiv published an article on its website titled “MEPs slam Commission on food security impact of reducing pesticides” as part of its sustainable food systems coverage sponsored by Syngenta. The article quoted CropLife Europe, of which Syngenta is a member: “‘EU policymaking should be science and evidence-based,’ crop industry organization CropLife Europe said on Twitter while citing Dorfmann’s comment on a lack of information about impacts on production.”³⁸

Regenerative agriculture

A Farmers Guardian article, sponsored by Syngenta, described how regenerative farming initiatives by the company were aiming to “give growers practical research-proven sustainable solutions in a changing environment.”³⁹

A video shared by Syngenta on Twitter in August 2020 says that agriculture can combat climate change as “agricultural fields can act as a valuable carbon sink and help remove greenhouse gases from our environment.” The video points to regenerative agriculture techniques such as no-till farming to keep carbon in the soil, instead of being released into the air — a key element of regenerative agriculture.⁴⁰

Kendra Klein, a senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth, told Civil Eats in 2019 that agrochemical companies were trying to “co-opt the regenerative farming concept.” Mentioning Syngenta, Klein said that promoting regenerative methods “is a cover for continuing a very resource-intensive, energy- and greenhouse gas-intensive form of agriculture,” referring to the company’s push with Bayer for pesticide use.⁴¹

A December 2020 article from agricultural news website Ag Web highlighted how major companies including Syngenta, BASF, Nutrien Ag and Bayer are taking part in the practice of “carbon farming,” in which companies receive money for practices that help sequester carbon during the farming process.⁴²

Ag Web reported that Syngenta is developing a reporting program called AgriEdge, which covers all crops and geographies, and will allow farmers to “dig into the data to see the return on investment for whatever sustainable practice they choose.”

Jacky Davis, digital ag solutions marketing lead for Syngenta, told Ag Web that “AgriEdge is a holistic, whole farm management program” that allows the company to “find ways for growers to not only agronomically find what fits on their field, but also utilize data collection and data analysis to really analyze what’s going on a per-field basis or a per-acre basis.”⁴³

In February 2021, Fyrwald said that to accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture, government policies need to provide proper incentives for farmers.⁴⁴ Senate that would allow farmers to implement carbon-sequestering agricultural practices and then sell carbon credits to large polluters. Politico reported that farmers had “expressed worry that large agribusinesses and multinational food companies would use their political prowess and market heft to benefit from the credits.”⁴⁵

In an article on the Euractiv website, published in January 2022, Syngenta suggested that regenerative agriculture “is one possible approach to deliver on the right balance between the need to supply sufficient food and to take care of our environment.” It promoted Regenerative Agriculture as a solution to a “trade-off” between Farm to Fork targets and EU agricultural income and yields.⁴⁶

Digital and precision agriculture

President of Syngenta Crop Protection Vern Hawkins argued in January 2019 that changes in farming practices and technologies, and particularly the growth of precision agriculture, would be one of five key trends to watch for in the agriculture industry over the next few years. He said, “precision farming will continue to increase proficiencies in seeding, fertilizing, and crop protection.”⁴⁷

In October 2019, Syngenta committed US$2 billion over five years towards innovation to tackle climate change by helping farmers to “prepare for and tackle the increasing threats posed by climate change.” The company also pledged to “reduce carbon intensity of its operations by 50 percent, supporting the ambition of the Paris Agreement on climate change.”⁴⁸

Syngenta says the investment is part of a sustainability goal to deliver “at least two technological breakthroughs to market each year” aimed at reducing “agriculture’s contribution to climate change, harness its mitigation capacity and help the food system stay within planetary boundaries.”⁴⁹

In a paid post in The New York Times, Dan Burdett, Syngenta’s head of digital agriculture, said: “Digital technologies are rapidly transforming agriculture: data, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and overall farm management help save farmers time and money, and enable unprecedented precision and efficiency.”⁵⁰

The company wrote in its 2019 disclosures to charity CDP, “There is currently limited understanding about the link between agriculture and climate change. Syngenta sees therefore an opportunity to increase awareness among farmers, policy-makers and other stakeholders about how agricultural technologies could contribute to reducing CO2 emissions throughout the value chain – from agricultural input to consumer product.”⁵¹

It continued: “Increased awareness and associated new agreements and regulations could lead to a broader acceptance of agricultural technology, better freedom to operate and sales increase for Syngenta.”

On July 31, 2020, Syngenta submitted feedback to the European Commission regarding updated rules for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive, which aims to “further reduc[e] pesticide use to help meet the goals of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Green Deal.”⁵² Ian Wheals, Syngenta’s Head of Europe, Africa and Middle East Regulatory Policy, wrote: “We think the use of precision agriculture at scale is one of the most promising solutions with potential to achieve the Commission’s ambitious targets, including the use of risk reduction systems and targeted application technologies.” Wheals added that companies’ investment in “research and development of novel, low risk crop protection solutions is predicated on a reliable market access system,” and that for growers to adopt “innovative digital and precision agriculture technologies” they must have “support and incentives for their own associated investments.”⁵³

Syngenta’s interest in expanding the use of precision agriculture technologies goes beyond Europe. In a post “supported” by Syngenta on EURACTIV, Syngenta Head of South Africa, Antonie Delpot, said, “we need an African green transition that enables Africa to make the most of technology and innovation, but in a sustainable way and in partnership with the different parts of society, including the private sector.”⁵⁴

In January 2022, Syngenta wrote and sponsored an article on the Euractiv website, which argued that innovations including digital agriculture should be supported in the context of EU Farm to Fork targets. It stated, “Through these technologies farmers can measure not only yield and economic outcomes but also biodiversity improvements and soil carbon content.”⁵⁵

Role in Pesticides Controversy

EU pesticides controversy

In June 2023, Swedish academics found that Bayer and Syngenta withheld nine brain toxicity studies from European regulators for between 14 and 21 years during approval processes for a number of pesticides. The researchers found that of the 35 studies submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency for the pesticide approval process, nine were not sent to the EU authorities for the approval of the same pesticides.⁵⁶

The results of the omitted studies included changes in brain size, delayed sexual maturation and reduced weight gain in offspring of pregnant rats exposed to a pesticide. Some of the pesticides included in the study – abamectin, ethoprophos and pyridaben – are or have been used on crops such as tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, and aubergines.

Both companies were accused by MEPs of “breaching legal obligations and unethical behaviour”.⁵⁷

Bayer and Syngenta rejected the accusations and said that they had provided all relevant studies.

Neonicotinoids

Pesticides containing neonicotinoids were banned in Europe for two years in 2013 over fears they were contributing to a decline in bee health. In 2018, the EU voted for a total ban on using neonicotinoids in fields, which came into action at the end of that year.⁵⁸

Syngenta took legal action against the ban, saying it had been enacted “on the basis of a flawed process, an inaccurate and incomplete assessment by the European Food Safety Authority and without the full support of EU Member States,” according to the Guardian.⁵⁹ According to The New York Times, Bayer CropScience and Syngenta – the two pesticide companies that make neonicotinoids in Europe – said they “were willing to finance additional research, but that the current data do not justify a ban.”⁶⁰

According to a 2017 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food:⁶¹

“Industry has also sought to dissuade Governments from restricting pesticide use to save pollinators. In Europe, a campaign was mounted preceding the decision by the European Union in 2013 to ban neonicotinoids. The chemical industry, allegedly with support from the Government of the United Kingdom, publicly contested findings of the European Food Safety Authority about the unacceptable risk of neonicotinoids to bees. Syngenta reportedly even threatened to sue individual European Union officials involved in publishing the Authority’s report. Bayer and Syngenta are still refusing to disclose their own studies that demonstrated the harmful effects of their pesticides on honeybees at high doses.”

In 2013, the Greens/European Free Alliance published a 22-page report titled, “Syngenta, Lies & Pesticides” which aimed to “dismantle the most important of their [Syngenta’s] so called ‘scientific claims’ that are in fact based on lies, to protect corporate profits” regarding the company’s use and promotion of neonicotinoids.⁶² Syngenta, along with Bayer, were in 2016 reportedly criticized by campaigners and scientists after unpublished field trials “show[ed] their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels,” according to the Guardian.⁶³

In late 2017, Syngenta criticized the rising concern surrounding the environmental impact of chemicals like neonicotinoid pesticides, and denounced the idea that the usage of these chemicals significantly impacted bee health.⁶⁴ Syngenta CEO Fyrwald said, “agriculture can be a solution to the greenhouse gas problem if we make sensible use of the available synthetic technology.” In June 2020, however, Fyrwald said that the company would continue to drive down the use of pesticides because, “consumers want that. Governments want that. We want it.”⁶⁵

In March 2021, the Canadian Health Ministry planned to limit the use of two crop chemicals because they have been linked to deaths of aquatic insects that are food for fish and birds: Syngenta’s thiamethoxam and Bayer’s clothianidin.⁶⁶

In May 2021, The European Court of Justice upheld a 2018 ruling which restricted the use of active substances which studies suggest harm populations of pollinators, such as bees, including Syngenta’s thiamethoxam.⁶⁷

Other Pesticides

An investigation by the Guardian in October 2022 reported on the response of Syngenta and its predecessor companies to allegations that long-term exposure to its pesticide paraquat caused Parkinson’s, based on a cache of internal corporate documents dating back to the 1950s. The report alleges that, while the papers do not show Syngenta and its predecessor companies to have accepted the links between paraquat and Parkinsons, they do suggest that “the public narrative [on paraquat] put forward by Syngenta and the corporate entities that preceded it has at times contradicted the company’s own research and knowledge.”⁶⁸

According to the report: “When Syngenta’s own internal research showed adverse effects of paraquat on brain tissue, the company withheld that information from regulators while downplaying the validity of similar findings being reported by independent scientists.” The company was also said to have “worked behind the scenes to try to keep a highly regarded scientist from sitting on an advisory panel for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” – the chief U.S. regulator for paraquat and other pesticides.

In a 2006 press release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a US$1.5 million fine against Syngenta for “selling and distributing seed corn that contained an unregistered genetically engineered pesticide called Bt 10.”⁶⁹

Syngenta has also been in a long-standing battle with biologist Tyrone Hayes of the University of California, Berkeley, who has spent years researching the effect of the Syngenta herbicide Atrazine on frogs. A 2017 case study by the Union of Concerned Scientists details how Hayes’s discovery, which “linked atrazine exposure with changing genetically male frogs into functional females,” made him the target of years of harassment from Syngenta, which worked “to discredit his science and tarnish his reputation as a researcher.”⁷⁰

In 2018, Politico reported that Syngenta had “used its lobbying in Brussels to drive a wedge between the Commission and its own food safety agency,” EFSA, by pointing out what seemed to be loopholes in EFSA’s assessment of Syngenta pesticide diquat. Politico reported that Syngenta had sent letters and emails to the European Commission. A company representative told Politico that lobbying was “a normal part of any functioning political system.” Speaking to Politico about Syngenta’s complaints, an EFSA spokesperson said it stood by its findings and accused Syngenta of attempting to undermine its credibility: “EFSA often receives criticism about its work on regulated products. This is aimed at discrediting the solidity of our scientific approach when our assessments do not meet the expectations of interested parties.”⁷¹

In April 2021, iNews reported that UK councils held millions of pounds worth of pension fund investments in the manufacturers of herbicides, including Syngenta, Bayer, Corteva and BASF.⁷²

In May 2021, The Guardian reported that agricultural firms Bayer, Syngenta, Corteva and other large companies were among those dumping seeds coated with an array of insecticides and fungicides in a Nebraska ethanol plant for over a decade. The contamination led to several environmental and health consequences, including mass die-offs of fish miles downstream from the plant.⁷³

In May 2022, the Swiss media outlet SWI reported that Syngenta CEO Erik Fyrwald “called for an end to organic farming to avoid a worsening food crisis.” According to the article, Fyrwald told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that “Rich countries should increase their agricultural production in order to prevent a global food crisis”, and that Fyrwald reportedly claimed that “organic farming yields can be up to 50% lower than non-organic farming, depending on the product.” He told NZZ that “The indirect consequence is that people are starving in Africa because we are eating more and more organic products,” and reportedly told the outlet that “Organic farming requires more land and it is bad for the climate because the fields are usually ploughed, which increases CO2 emissions.” Fyrwald reportedly added that “his opposition to organic farming was in no way linked to Syngenta’s business objectives.”⁷⁴

Pesticide Exports

An Unearthed and Public Eye investigation in October 2020 reported that loopholes in European regulations allow European pesticides producers, including Syngenta, to export pesticides banned in the EU to poorer countries such as Ukraine, South Africa and Brazil. The investigation found that Syngenta was the biggest exporter of banned agrochemicals among the manufacturers analyzed, with exports of 29,307 metric tons – nearly three times those of the second largest exporter analyzed. In response to the investigation, a Syngenta spokesperson told Unearthed and Public Eye that the company had a history of “investing heavily in programs and training to ensure the correct use of our products” and that when “following label instructions, farmers can responsibly and safely use crop protection products that have been authorised by competent local authorities”.⁷⁵

In March 2021, Unearthed published an investigation into Syngenta’s sales of Gramoxone, a paraquat-containing chemical herbicide, which has been linked to hundreds of deaths. The investigation reported on a cache of internal company documents that had been published during a court case in the US. According to the investigation, Syngenta “continues to export thousands of tonnes of paraquat each year from its factory in the north of England – although the UK, Switzerland and China have all banned its use on their own soil.” Syngenta states, according to the report, that it has “helped address the problem of accidental ingestion” by using a dye and smell first added to the pesticide in the 1970s, to warn people against drinking it, as well as an emetic to induce vomiting.⁷⁶

However, Unearthed states that the cache “reveals that Syngenta and its predecessors [the previous owners of Gramoxone] knew for decades that the emetic in Gramoxone did little or nothing to prevent poisoning deaths – but continued to present it as effective to regulators and the public.” Despite warnings from its own scientists, according to the report:⁷⁷

“Syngenta still manufactures Gramoxone with the same concentration of PP796 it has had since the 70s. Not only this, but the company has persuaded the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to adopt this concentration of PP796 as a global specification, in the agency’s guidance on the standards all paraquat-based weedkillers should meet.”

In April 2022, campaign groups Friends of the Earth Europe and the Seattle to Brussels Network published a report looking at the EU-Mercosur trade deal. The report found that the trade deal, if ratified between the EU and the Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, “will heavily increase crop exports to Europe, and imports of dangerous agrochemicals to South America, particularly Brazil. The likely expansion of agriculture for export risks aggravating existing problems with the conversion of forests and other important ecosystems for agriculture, and adds to the toxic burden of pesticide-intensive agriculture on nature and local communities.”⁷⁸

The report also found that, “Groups representing Bayer, BASF & Syngenta have spent around 2M euros to support the agribusiness lobby in Brazil. […] Their joint lobby efforts have borne fruit: pesticide use has multiplied sixfold over the last 20 years and a record number of new pesticides has been approved in Brazil since Jair Bolsonaro came to power.”

Genetically Modified Organisms

Gene editing in agriculture is the process of adding, enhancing or removing specific traits from the DNA of an organism. Genetic modification can make organisms more resistant to certain environmental conditions, including pests, chemicals, diseases and weather.

Some studies show that the adoption of genetic modifications to make crops more insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant has reduced farmers’ need to spray pesticides, thereby decreasing the environmental impact associated with herbicide and insecticide use on these crops.⁷⁹

However, other studies suggest that weeds become more resistant, leading farmers to use additional chemicals, in larger quantities.⁸⁰

Many studies conclude that there is still not enough data in order to assess the long term safety of such new crops, nor their environmental impact.⁸¹

Industry efforts have recently focused on so-called ‘New Genomic Techniques’ (NGTs, also known as ‘new breeding techniques’), a type of plant breeding. NGTs are currently legislated under GMO laws in the EU.

However, in 2021 the European Commission conducted a study on the topic, which concluded that current legislation was “not fit for purpose” when it came to NGTs. The Commission will bring a proposal on future regulation of NGTs, which it says will aim to “achieve the goals of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy.”⁸²

Mute Schimpf from Friends of the Earth stated, “It’s high time the EU recognised that new genomic techniques and patent cartels only feed big business, not the world. EU decision-makers must stop giving in to biotech lobbying tactics and stop wasting time and resources trying to push new, untested GMOs into our fields and onto our plates.”⁸³

In the “Syngenta and Climate Change” report from 2019, Syngenta claims that “by making crops more efficient, we committed to increasing the average productivity of major crops by 20 percent, without using more land, water, or inputs”.⁸⁴

A 2021 investigation by Corporate Europe Observatory examined lobbying by companies including Syngenta to water down the regulation of new GMOs, and lower standards for risk assessment, monitoring and labeling requirements. The investigation also detailed lobbying efforts by groups that represent agribusiness companies including Corteva, BASF and Bayer.⁸⁵

In an interview with European media platform EURACTIV, Alexandra Brand, chief sustainability officer at Syngenta, said that company was exploring plant breeding technologies to make its business more sustainable, because gene editing technologies can “help make crops more resistant to drought or torrential rains,” adding that “some of this is already possible today with conventional breeding and plant breeding will just make it faster.”⁸⁶

In the interview, which also listed Syngenta as a “supporter,” Brand also criticized the EU for its “very precautionary principle” when considering new technologies and reportedly attributed a decreasing rate of agricultural innovation in Europe to the EU’s caution.

A Syngenta article on the Euractiv website in January 2022 stated that “new breeding technologies”, and other innovations could support EU agriculture against “serious unintended consequences” from EU Farm to Fork targets.⁸⁷

Lobbying

The company publicly states, “Syngenta may engage in political advocacy and debate on subjects that advance the company’s goals, support our customers, partners and industry, and improve the communities where we work and live.” The statement goes on to stress that the company maintains “strict internal control of lobbying activities.”⁸⁸

In 2017, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food name-checked Syngenta in a report that found: “The pesticide industry’s efforts to influence policymakers and regulators have obstructed reforms and paralysed global pesticide restrictions globally. When challenged, justifications for lobbying efforts include claims that companies comply with their own codes of conduct, or that they follow local laws.”⁸⁹

Syngenta Crop Protection AG is registered in the EU Transparency Register for lobbying.⁹⁰ The company spent between €1,250,000 – 1,499,999 on lobbying in 2021, according to its profile.⁹¹

According to the EU Transparency Register, Syngenta spent between €1,500,000 – €1,749,000 on lobbying in 2020.⁹²

Syngenta spent between €1,500,000 – €1,749,000 on lobbying in 2018, according to lobbying database LobbyFacts.⁹³

In 2016, the most recent year available, the company spent US$940,000 on lobbying in the U.S. according to OpenSecrets.org.⁹⁴ The data shows that from 2000 to 2016 Syngenta lobbied a large number of U.S. agencies and governmental bodies, including:⁹⁵

In 2008, Syngenta and the European Landowners’ Organization founded the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA). According to the website other strategic partners include Cargill, The Nature Conservancy and WWF.⁹⁶ Supporting partners included John Deere, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. The organization holds regional and online events, as well as an annual conference. For its March 2022 conference, speakers included:⁹⁷

Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, European Commission
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Francisco Garcia Verde, Sustainable and Responsible Business Manager EAME, Soil Health Lead, Syngenta
Thierry de l’Escaille, Secretary General, European Landowners’ Organization
Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, USDA

In 2017, more than 50 Belgian companies held an action in Brussels denouncing the 10th FFA conference. Corporate Europe Observatory campaigner Martin Pigeon said at the time, “we are standing in solidarity with farming and citizens who are mobilising against the disastrous consequences of the grip that Big Agribusiness has on EU policy-making.”⁹⁸

In November 2021, FFA held an event on “Transatlantic cooperation to face global agricultural challenges”. Wojciechowski was again amongst the speakers, alongside Thomas J. Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture.⁹⁹

In 2018, Transparency International UK, an independent anti-corruption organisation, published its Corporate Political Engagement Index, which scored 104 multinational companies on their respective political engagement. Syngenta was given an E overall, while scoring an F — the Index’s lowest score — in the Political Contributions category. The company scored an E in the Responsible Lobbying category.¹⁰⁰

A 2018 investigation by Open Democracy revealed that Syngenta had made deals with the London Evening Standard newspaper to suppress reporting that the company was facing billion dollar lawsuits. In the same period, the paper ran a series of debates and articles about the “future of food,” which were sponsored by Syngenta.¹⁰¹

A 2012 investigation by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) revealed that Syngenta had a number of ongoing payments to individuals and organisations to promote its work. This included commentator Steve Milloy, a climate science denier and publisher of JunkScience.com. Milloy had received grants of up to US$25,000, according to emails between Milloy and Syngenta obtained by CMD.¹⁰²

According to an Associated Press report in 2018, Syngenta lobbyist Jeffrey Sands was granted permission by Trump administration White House Counsel Don McGahn to become Senior Advisor for Agriculture to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt.¹⁰³ McGahn said the decision to approve Sands was “in the public interest.” As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, prior to joining the Trump administration, Pruitt received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from oil and gas companies to his political campaigns,¹⁰⁴ and launched multiple lawsuits against the agency to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations.¹⁰⁵

In June 2020, Syngenta’s logo featured on a bill introduced by a number of U.S. senators to establish a U.S. Department of Agriculture certification program to help farmers and landowners participate in carbon credit markets. The bill also included the logos of a number of other agribusinesses, including Bayer and Corteva.¹⁰⁶

Syngenta actively engages in media partnerships with Brussels-based media outlets, notably Politico Europe and EURACTIV, where it promotes and supports content and policy briefs and organizes events reaching EU policymakers and stakeholders.¹⁰⁷ ¹⁰⁸ In 2020, it participated in Politico’s Sustainable Future Summit to discuss Europe’s climate ambitions and its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.¹⁰⁹ In 2021, Syngenta was a sponsor of the Politico Sustainable Future Summit, held between November 30 and December 1.¹¹⁰

According to the Euractiv website viewed in September 2022, Syngenta “supports EURACTIV’s coverage of Sustainable food systems”. It stated, “EURACTIV’s editorial content is independent from the views of its supporters.”¹¹¹

Affiliations

Syngenta is a member of CropLife International alongside FMC, BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Sumitomo Chemical.¹¹²

According to the EU Transparency Register, Syngenta is part of:¹¹³

CropLife Europe
Euroseeds
International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA)
European Biostimulants Industry Council (EBIC)
American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU)
EconomieSuisse.

It was also said to participate in the following bodies:

Transantlantic Policy Network (TPN),
European Technology Platform (ETP) Plants for the Future
The Glyphosate Renewal Group (GRG)
European Risk Forum (ERF)

Syngenta works with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, The Nature Conservancy, the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) and the World Economic Forum.¹¹⁴ “¹¹⁵

In June 2019, AGRA, Syngenta and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture signed an agreement to work together towards developing Africa’s agricultural system, specifically by helping to increase access to yield-enhancing technologies and pest control products.¹¹⁶

In June 2020, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) logo was featured on a one-pager for a bill introduced by a number of U.S. senators to establish a U.S. Department of Agriculture certification programme to help farmers and landowners participate in carbon credit markets. The bill also included the logos of a number of other agribusinesses, including Bayer, Syngenta, and Corteva.¹¹⁷

Syngenta is part of the Glyphosate Renewal Group, a coalition of companies working together to call for the renewal of EU authorization for the active substance glyphosate, an agricultural herbicide. The groups members include Albaugh Europe SARL, Barclay Chemicals Manufacturing Ltd., Bayer Agriculture, Ciech Sarzyna S.A., Industrias Afrasa S.A., Nufarm GMBH & Co.KG and Sinon Corporation.¹¹⁸

Syngenta is also a member of the Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition (SPG).¹¹⁹ The SPG was launched by the US Department of Agriculture at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021. The USDA describes it as a “channel for cooperation to foster more sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, while ensuring the availability and affordability of food around the world.”¹²⁰

Its members include states (such as the EU, the US, and Brazil), academic and research institutions, and foundations and other organizations (including International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, International Fertilizer Development Center), alongside the private sector. Private sector members include: Bayer, CropLife International, FMC Corporation, Corteva Agriscience, BASF, the Fertilizer Institute and the US Dairy Export Council.¹²¹ COPA-COGECA described the coalition as “the building of an anti-F2F group”, according to Corporate Europe Observatory.¹²²

Syntgenta is a member of the European Carbon+ Farming Coalition.¹²³ According to the United Nations, the Coalition “was launched as part of a larger effort to transform global food systems, under the auspices of the WEF [World Economic Forum]. It aims to promote regenerative and climate-smart practices to better Manage Europe’s farmlands, contributing to the decarbonization of the European food system, healthier soils and more resilient farms.”¹²⁴ The majority of partners in the Coalition are corporations, including Bayer CropScience and BASF, alongside just one university and one NGO.¹²⁵

Resources

1
“Research and Development,” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/MmqN5
2
“Financial Report 2021,” Syngenta. Archived August 9, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
3
Erik Fyrwald. “Helping farmers, fighting climate change,” EURACTIV, July 2, 2020, Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/7XAYi
4
Erik Fyrwald. “Helping farmers, fighting climate change,” EURACTIV, July 2, 2020, Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/7XAYi
5
“About our company,” Syngenta. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VqT0r
6
“Company,” Syngenta. Archived November 22, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Set6E
7
“Launch of Syngenta Group – Creating a Global AgTech Market Leader,” BusinessWire, June 18, 2021. Archived November 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ofqiQ
8
Hermy Sender. “Eric Fyrwald: Changing the image of the agrochemicals industry,” The Financial Times, July 28, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
9
“Syngenta and The Nature Conservancy Team Up to Deliver Innovation for Nature,” The Nature Conservancy, April 29, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/H8fO7
10
“Our Public Policy Position: Syngenta and climate change,” Syngenta, October 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
11
“Climate Change Research Global Farmers,” Syngenta Group, March 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
12
“The Good Growth Plan,” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/jEiKZ
13
“Strive for carbon neutral agriculture,” Syngenta. Archived December 2, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/x424l
14
“How can agriculture play a role in addressing climate change?” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/NAK0K
15
“How can agriculture play a role in addressing climate change?” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/NAK0K
16
“Our Public Policy Position: Syngenta and climate change,” Syngenta, October 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
17
“Report: Paris deal threatened by corporate capture,” Corporate Accountability, November 1, 2017. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/8As2f
18
“Embracing Ag’s Crucial Role in the Fight Against Climate Change,” Syngenta Group, May 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/tkIlX
19
“Embracing Ag’s Crucial Role in the Fight Against Climate Change,” Syngenta Group, May 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/tkIlX
20
Simon Winter. “How to increase incomes for smallholder farmers,” Swiss Info. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/wXMJ4
21
Simon Winter. “How to increase incomes for smallholder farmers,” Swiss Info. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/wXMJ4
22
“Agricultural production in the EU to drop by 20 percent,” Swiss Food, October 15, 2021. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/teLSX
23
Johan Bremmer, Ana Gonzalez-Martinez, Roel Jongeneel, Hilfred Huiting, Rob Stokkers, Marc Ruijs. “Impact Assessment of EC 2030 Green Deal Targets for Sustainable Crop Production,” Wageningen University and Research, December 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
24
Alexandra Brand. “Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
25
Sonja Gjerde. “EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy Misses the Mark,” Syngenta Thrive, July 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CJGIR
26
Alexandra Brand. “Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
27
Johan Bremmer, Ana Gonzalez-Martinez, Roel Jongeneel, Hilfred Huiting, Rob Stokkers, Marc Ruijs. “Impact Assessment of EC 2030 Green Deal Targets for Sustainable Crop Production,” Wageningen University and Research, December 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
28
“Syngenta adds new Director to the Board,” Syngenta, April 15, 2019. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/v0KjC
29
“AGRI/ENVI,” European Parliament Multimedia Centre, January 25, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/l1k4F
30
“Green Deal 2030 targets and agricultural production studies”, News Article, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission, October 18, 2021. Archived July 22, 2022. Archive URL: http://archive.today/9MJmE
31
“Green Deal targets for 2030 and agricultural production studies – Fact Sheet,” European Commission, February 2022. Archived April 7, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
32
“A loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industry’s lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork.” Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive PDF: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
33
Syngenta. “Data suggests the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy could lead to lower yields of crops & higher food prices,” Tweet by user @Syngenta, January 24, 2022. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
34
Alexandra Brand,.“Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
35
Sonja Gjerde. “EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy Misses the Mark,” Syngenta Thrive, July 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CJGIR
36
Sonja Gjerde. “EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy Misses the Mark,” Syngenta Thrive, July 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CJGIR
37
“A loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industry’s lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,” Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
38
Julia Dahm. “MEPs slam Commission on food security impact of reducing pesticides,” Euractiv, September 1, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zQTOW
39
“Rebuilding soil structure,” Farmers Guardian. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/RqUv4
40
“By reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sustainable farming practices & technology, #agriculture can help address #ClimateChange and be part of the solution:  https://syngenta.com/who-we-are/our-stories/carbon-sequestration,” Tweet by @Syngenta, August 4, 2020. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
41
Gosia Wozniacka, “With Regenerative Agriculture Booming, the Question of Pesticide Use Looms Large,” Civil Eats, September 5, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/RViMo
42
Tyne Morgan. “Future of Farming: Chase to Capture Carbon As Another Revenue Stream,” AgWeb, December 14, 2020. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/H0cxz
43
Tyne Morgan. “Future of Farming: Chase to Capture Carbon As Another Revenue Stream,” AgWeb, December 14, 2020. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/H0cxz
44
Emma Newburger. “Biden’s climate change plan: Pay farmers to cut carbon footprint,” CNBC, February 12, 2021. Archived November 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/oniwm In spring 2021, Syngenta was among the companies supporting the passage of a bipartisan bill in the U.S.
45
H. Claire Brown. “The Senate appears poised to pass a bipartisan bill to help farmers sell carbon credits. Not everyone is happy,” The Counter, April 27, 2021. Archived November 5, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/92ZXU Ximena Bustillo and Helena Bottemiller Evich. “Lawmakers ready new ag climate bill with major GOP backing,” Politico, April 20, 2021. Archived August 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mYwce
46
Alexandra Brand. “Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
47
Eric Sfiligoj. “Syngenta Keeping Close Tabs on Changes for the Future of Ag,” CropLife, January 16, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/SmvEn
48
“Syngenta commits $2 billion and sets new targets for innovation to tackle climate change,” Syngenta, October 22, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/jtHWp
49
“Syngenta commits $2 billion and sets new targets for innovation to tackle climate change,” Syngenta, October 22, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/jtHWp
50
“Is Digital Farming the Key to Sustainable Agriculture,” The New York Times. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/cNBnE
51
“Syngenta Ag- Climate Change 2019 (disclosure to CDP),” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
52
“Pesticides – sustainable use (updated EU rules),” European Commission. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/K2xCv
53
“Syngenta’s Feedback on Sustainable Use of Pesticides Roadmap,“ European Commission, July 31, 2020. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/e0Llm
54
Natasha Foote. “EU-Africa partnership must reflect ‘realities of African agriculture’,” Euractiv, February 8, 2021. Archived March 3, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/sEmmP
55
Alexandra Brand. “Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
56
Mie and Rúden, “Non-disclosure of developmental neurotoxicity studies obstructs the safety assessment of pesticides in the European Union,” Environmental Health, June 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-023-00994-9 Archive .pdf on file at DeSmog.
57
Damien Carrington, “Pesticide firms withheld brain toxicity studies from EU regulators, study finds,” The Guardian, June 1, 2023. Archived August 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/L1sum
58
Damian Carrington. “EU agrees total ban on bee-harming pesticides,” The Guardian, April 27, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/lutrO
59
Alison Benjamin, Amanda Holpuch and Ruth Spencer. “Chemicals giants go to court, bees go to Washington, and giant carpenter bees,” The Guardian, September 4, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/rLWQX
60
David Jolly. “Europe Bans Pesticides Thought Harmful to Bees,” The New York Times. April 29, 2013. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
61
“Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food,” United Nations General Assembly, January 24, 2017. Archived March 27, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
62
“Syngenta, Lies & Pesticides,” The Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
63
Damian Carrington. “Pesticide manufacturers’ own tests reveal serious harm to honeybees,” The Guardian, September 22, 2016. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/bTWKu
64
Andrew Marshall. “Syngenta warns of populist anti-ag technology agenda,” Farm Online, December 19, 2017. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/6QHVH
65
Eric Roston and Agnieszka de Sousa. “Reorganized Syngenta Group Wants to Cut Back on Pesticides,” Bloomberg, June 30, 2020. Archived February 15, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dEtoH
66
Rod Nickel. “Canada to limit uses of two crop chemicals on concerns about water insects,” Reuters, March 21, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1QxdQ
67
Reuters. “EU court upholds ban on insecticides linked to harming bees,” The Guardian, March 21, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZzcsD
68
Carey Gillam and Aliya Uteuova. “Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease,” The Guardian, October 20, 2022. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/etw0g
69
“EPA Fines Syngenta $1.5 million for distributing unregistered genetically engineered pesticide,” Environmental Protection Agency, December 21, 2006. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/Xuwiy
70
“Syngenta Harassed the Scientist who Exposed Risks of Herbicide Atrazine,” Union of Concerned Scientists, October 12, 2017. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/KWOG8
71
Simon Marks and Giulia Paravicin. “How Syngenta won the war over weedkillers,” Politico Europe, March 19, 2018. Archived November 4, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SJlx6
72
Madeleine Cuff, Jan Goodey, Nicole Pihan. ‘Wildlife-friendly’ UK councils are invested in pesticide manufacturers via pension funds,” iNews, April 4, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/J2laC
73
Carey Gillam. “Outrage as regulators let pesticides from factory pollute US town for years,” The Guardian, May 29, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6HsCw
74
“Stop organic farming to help future food crisis, says Syngenta boss”, SWI, May 8, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8Nes6
75
Crispin Dowler. “Thousands of tonnes of banned pesticides shipped to poorer countries from British and European factories,” Unearthed, September 9, 2020. Archived November 19, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xCF0g
76
Crispin Dowler and Laurent Gaberell. “The Paraquat Papers: How Syngenta’s bad science helped keep the world’s deadliest weedkiller on the market,” Unearthed, March 24, 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CkfjY
77
Crispin Dowler and Laurent Gaberell. “The Paraquat Papers: How Syngenta’s bad science helped keep the world’s deadliest weedkiller on the market,” Unearthed, March 24, 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CkfjY
78
Larissa Mies Bombardi and Audrey Changoe. “Toxic Trading: The EU pesticide lobby’s offensive in Brazil,” Friends of the Earth Europe and Seattle to Brussels Network, April 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DHPVz
79
Graham Brookes and Simon Barfoot. “Environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) crop use 1996-2016: Impacts on pesticide use and carbon emissions,” GM Crops & Food, Archived April 16, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
80
Caroline Newman. “Largest-Ever Study Reveals Environmental Impact of Genetically Modified Crops,” UVATODAY, September 14, 2016. Archived October 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/BAPXC
81
Aristidis M. Tsatsakis, Muhammad Amjad Nawaz, Demetrios Kouretas, Georgios Balias, Kai Savolainen, Victor A. Tutelyan, Kirill S. Golokhvast, Jeong Dong Lee, Seung Hwan Yang, Gyuhwa Chung. “Environmental impacts of genetically modified plants: A review,” Environmental Research, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.03.011.
82
“EC study on new genomic techniques,” European Commission. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/3NzFf
83
“Environment ministers called on to keep new GMOs regulated,” Friends of the Earth, December 15, 2021. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zn84p
84
“Syngenta and Climate Change,” Syngenta, October 2019. Archived August 2, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
85
“Derailing EU Rules on New GMOs,” Corporate Europe Observatory, March 29, 2021. Archived October 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ES6n6
86
Sarantis Michalopoulos. “Syngenta vows to speed up innovation and precision in agriculture,” EURACTIV, April 12, 2019. Archived January 15, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7Eo9y
87
Alexandra Brand. “Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
88
“Governance & stakeholder relations,” Syngenta. November 9, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/bTLIr
89
“Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food,” United Nations General Assembly, January 24, 2017. Archived March 27, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
90
“Syngenta Crop Protection AG,” EU Transparency Register. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/TgljA
91
“Syngenta Crop Protection AG,” European Commission Transparency Register, September 1, 2019. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FWCCn
92
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93
“Syngenta Crop Protection AG,” LobbyFacts. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/fsXCv
94
“Client Profile: Syngenta AG,” OpenSecrets. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/4R6eQ
95
“Client Profile: Syngenta AG – Agencies,” OpenSecrets. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/6urU9
96
“2022 ForumforAg Final Wrap-up and Land and Soil Management Award Ceremony,” Forum for the Future of Agriculture. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mzghb
97
“2022 Annual Conference,” Forum for the Future of Agriculture. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QcZsA
98
“The future of agriculture deserves better than Syngenta,” Corporate Europe Observatory, March 28, 2017. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/JnEpa
99
“Transatlantic cooperation to face global agricultural challenges,” Forum for the Future of Agriculture. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/akhJ7
100
“Corporate Political Engagement Index 2018,” Transparency International UK. Archived November 9, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/eFuJY
101
James Cusick and Crina Boros. “How a GM giant ‘bought control’ of what millions of Londoners read,” OpenDemocracy, February 8, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/BB2Ze
102
Sara Jerving. “Syngenta’s Paid Third Party Pundits Spin the ‘News’ on Atrazine,” PR Watch, February 7, 2012. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/VXePL
103
Mark Hand. “EPA happy to waive ethics rules for industry lobbyists joining the agency,” Think Progress, March 9, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/7DPgn
104
“Scott Pruitt – Oil and Gas Industries,” FollowTheMoney.Org. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/O3F7j
105
“Scott Pruitt’s web of fundraising and lawsuits,” EDF Action. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/SgbDm
106
Charlie Mitchell. “Farms Can’t Stop Climate Change,” The New Republic, August 7, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/younW
107
Agrifood Brief, powered by Syngenta Group: Acting local, thinking global,” EURACTIV, July 3, 2020. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MdkSY
108
“Syngenta foundation official: Asia and Africa will feed the world sustainably,” EURACTIV, June 19, 2019. Archived January 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/3cD8q
109
“We’re delighted to welcome Petra Laux, head of EAME business sustainability at @Syngenta, to POLITICO’s Sustainable Future Summit on December 2-3 for a discussion on Europe’s climate ambitions within its economic recovery >> http://bit.ly/3kLugMW | #POLITICOSustainability,” Tweet by user @LivePOLITICO, October 14, 2020. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived December 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fmqVm
110
“Sustainable Future Summit – POLITICO,” Politico. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/psWsv
111
Julia Dahm. “MEPs slam Commission on food security impact of reducing pesticides,” Euractiv, September 1, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zQTOW
112
“Members,” CropLife International. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/PSOBu
113
“Syngenta Crop Protection AG,” European Commission Transparency Register, September 1, 2019. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FWCCn
114
“Syngenta Ag- Climate Change 2019 (disclosure to CDP),” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
115
Syngenta AG – Climate Change 2021 (CDP Disclosure),” Syngenta, 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bOQIv
116
“Agra & Syngenta partner for Africa,” Syngenta Foundation, June 18, 2019. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/0qP8F
117
Charlie Mitchell. “Farms Can’t Save the Planet,” The New Republic, August 7, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/younW
118
“What is the Glyphosate Renewal Group,” Glyphosate Renewal Group. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/53rmx
119
“SPG Coalition Members and How to Join,” US Department of Agriculture. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PWDlI
120
“Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition,” Foreign Agriculture Service. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SLTjr
121
“SPG Coalition Members and How to Join,” US Department of Agriculture. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PWDlI
122
“A loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industry’s lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,” Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
123
“EU Carbon+ Farming Coalition,” World Economic Forum. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/20FNt
124
Lera Miles, Raquel Agra, Sandeep Sengupta, Adriana Vidal, Barney Dickson. “Nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation,” United Nations Environment Programme and International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2021. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
125
“EU Carbon+ Farming Coalition,” World Economic Forum. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/20FNt

1
“Research and Development,” Syngenta. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/MmqN5
2
“Financial Report 2021,” Syngenta. Archived August 9, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
3
Erik Fyrwald. “Helping farmers, fighting climate change,” EURACTIV, July 2, 2020, Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/7XAYi
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Sonja Gjerde. “EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy Misses the Mark,” Syngenta Thrive, July 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CJGIR
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Alexandra Brand. “Digesting Farm to Fork,” Euractiv, January 24, 2022. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Tr2m3
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“By reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sustainable farming practices & technology, #agriculture can help address #ClimateChange and be part of the solution:  https://syngenta.com/who-we-are/our-stories/carbon-sequestration,” Tweet by @Syngenta, August 4, 2020. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
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Damian Carrington. “Pesticide manufacturers’ own tests reveal serious harm to honeybees,” The Guardian, September 22, 2016. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/bTWKu
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Eric Roston and Agnieszka de Sousa. “Reorganized Syngenta Group Wants to Cut Back on Pesticides,” Bloomberg, June 30, 2020. Archived February 15, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dEtoH
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Rod Nickel. “Canada to limit uses of two crop chemicals on concerns about water insects,” Reuters, March 21, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1QxdQ
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Madeleine Cuff, Jan Goodey, Nicole Pihan. ‘Wildlife-friendly’ UK councils are invested in pesticide manufacturers via pension funds,” iNews, April 4, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/J2laC
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Crispin Dowler. “Thousands of tonnes of banned pesticides shipped to poorer countries from British and European factories,” Unearthed, September 9, 2020. Archived November 19, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xCF0g
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Crispin Dowler and Laurent Gaberell. “The Paraquat Papers: How Syngenta’s bad science helped keep the world’s deadliest weedkiller on the market,” Unearthed, March 24, 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CkfjY
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Crispin Dowler and Laurent Gaberell. “The Paraquat Papers: How Syngenta’s bad science helped keep the world’s deadliest weedkiller on the market,” Unearthed, March 24, 2021. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CkfjY
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Larissa Mies Bombardi and Audrey Changoe. “Toxic Trading: The EU pesticide lobby’s offensive in Brazil,” Friends of the Earth Europe and Seattle to Brussels Network, April 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DHPVz
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“2022 ForumforAg Final Wrap-up and Land and Soil Management Award Ceremony,” Forum for the Future of Agriculture. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mzghb
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Sara Jerving. “Syngenta’s Paid Third Party Pundits Spin the ‘News’ on Atrazine,” PR Watch, February 7, 2012. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/VXePL
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Mark Hand. “EPA happy to waive ethics rules for industry lobbyists joining the agency,” Think Progress, March 9, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/7DPgn
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Charlie Mitchell. “Farms Can’t Stop Climate Change,” The New Republic, August 7, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/younW
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Agrifood Brief, powered by Syngenta Group: Acting local, thinking global,” EURACTIV, July 3, 2020. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MdkSY
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“We’re delighted to welcome Petra Laux, head of EAME business sustainability at @Syngenta, to POLITICO’s Sustainable Future Summit on December 2-3 for a discussion on Europe’s climate ambitions within its economic recovery >> http://bit.ly/3kLugMW | #POLITICOSustainability,” Tweet by user @LivePOLITICO, October 14, 2020. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived December 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fmqVm
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“A loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industry’s lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,” Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
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