“Florida sugar company’s environmental claims are ‘greenwashing’, lawsuit says”, 5 March 2025

A major sugar company has been accused of harmful environmental practices while claiming to be a leader in the fight against the climate crisis, in a class-action lawsuit...

Florida Crystals, one of the US’s biggest sugar firms, and its parent company, the Fanjul Corporation, are accused of deceiving consumers and endangering public health by continuing to use environmentally harmful pre-harvest burning…

According to the court filing, the sugar company’s leaf-burning practices “emit substantial volumes of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change as well as toxic particulate matter (PM2.5), dioxins, carbon monoxide, ammonia, elemental carbon, and volatile organic compounds that fill the air of the Florida Glades region on a daily basis during the six-to-eight-month harvesting season, poisoning local residents, who are disproportionately poor and people of color.”…

Yet Florida Crystals, in partnership with the Fanjul Corporation, markets itself as the country’s most environmentally conscious and climate-friendly sugar company, the lawsuit alleges.

“Defendants label and advertise Florida Crystals products as ‘Farming to Help Save the Planet’ with farms that ‘help fight climate change [and] build healthy soils.’ …

Three of the world’s top five cane sugar-producing countries – Brazil, India and Thailand – are among multiple countries to have banned or severely restricted burning. For the past decade, some Glades residents have been campaigning to end cane burning. A 2022 Florida State University study linked the ash from sugarcane burning with up to five preventable deaths each year…

In a statement, the company said: “Florida Crystals is the only grower of sugarcane in the US that is Regenerative Organic Certified, an independent certification that represents the highest standard for organic agriculture in the world with stringent requirements for soil health. Florida Crystals’ regenerative agriculture program improves soil health, increases biodiversity and conserves water, among other benefits.”…