Complaint argues Florida Crystals and parent company Fanjul Corporation is deceiving consumers, endangering Floridians’ public health, and Poisoning the Planet
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Clarkson Law Firm, a leading national public interest firm, filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against one of the largest sugar producers in Florida and the country, Florida Crystals, and its parent company, the Fanjul Corporation.
The suit alleges that Florida Crystals and the Fanjul Corporation deceive consumers by saying they follow environmentally friendly practices that help fight climate change and protect the planet, but instead choose to engage in preharvest burning, rather than slashing as recommended by environmental experts. The companies persist in choosing the harmful but cheaper burn method even though preharvest burns are known to worsen climate change and expose communities and ecosystems in South Florida to harmful, life-threatening pollutants,
“There is no doubt that Florida Crystals and Fanjul Corporation are aware of the harmful environmental practices they follow, as Floridians have for years complained about the dangerous smoke being released from their burning sugarcane practices,” said Ryan Clarkson, managing partner of Clarkson Law Firm. “Big Sugar, and Florida Crystals in particular, need to stop lying to the public and come clean – it could be a true steward of the environment by stopping preharvest burns in favor of earth-friendly slashing, but instead these companies choose to continue poisoning people and the planet unnecessarily. Enough is enough – we are calling out Florida Crystals for their bald-faced lie and deception of consumers that is putting the health of thousands at risk.”
Florida Crystals’ sugarcane burning methods release massive plumes of ash and greenhouse gases throughout the eight-month annual cane harvesting season, contributing to climate change and exposing tens of thousands of nearby residents to harmful smoke. The pollutants residents of these communities are forced to endure are similar to those inhaled through cigarette smoking, leading to higher rates of chronic asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other health conditions – even death. In fact, a 2022 Florida State University study linked the ash from sugarcane burning, which Florida locals refer to as ‘black snow,’ to as many as five deaths annually.
“This is a clear-cut case of greenwashing,” said Bahar Sodaify, partner at Clarkson Law Firm. “Not only is Florida Crystals engaging in practices harmful to the public health of the local community, but it is falsely claiming in consumer-facing advertising to be helping the planet, when in fact it’s causing direct harm.”
Residents of South Florida’s historically underserved and underrepresented Glades region where Florida Crystals operates have been battling the harmful practices of Florida’s “Big Sugar” for decades. Yet officially sanctioned disparities persist: While the state government protects West Palm Beach and other affluent cities nearby from cane smoke by restricting burns when the winds blow their way, the impoverished communities of the Glades enjoy no such protection. For all its success in immunizing itself from liability locally, however, Florida Crystals cannot avoid the consequences of lying to consumers about the environmental damage it causes in the name of profit.
“Florida Crystals is one of the largest sugar companies in the country – a corporation owned by a family of billionaires that positions itself as the ‘green’ sugar manufacturer in the United States. But this branding is built on a lie,” said Ben Fuchs, Senior Associate Attorney at Clarkson Law Firm. “Florida Crystals has a choice and can follow a cleaner method to harvest sugarcane that won’t endanger residents while contributing to climate change. We need to hold them accountable for choosing the other way while duping environmentally conscious customers into thinking they’re ‘green.’”
Plaintiffs are calling on Florida Crystals and the Fanjul Corporation to stop deceiving consumers into believing Florida Crystals’ practices benefit the planet and combat climate change when in fact the opposite is true. Through the lawsuit, Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief to force the Defendants to stop misrepresenting their environmental impacts as well as restitution for buying these products based on the Defendants’ false label claims.
Read more about the lawsuit in The Guardian and Politico’s recent articles.
