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Story at-a-glance

• Syngenta agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by farmers diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after paraquat exposure, signaling growing public outrage over decades of corporate cover-ups
• Paraquat increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease by about 2.5 times and damages mitochondria, leading to progressive movement disorders and irreversible brain degeneration according to NIH research
• The EPA is delaying decisive action on paraquat regulation despite mounting evidence of severe health risks, allowing paraquat to remain on the market for at least four more years
• Despite following safety guidelines, many farmers still developed Parkinson’s, highlighting how protective equipment and labeling failed to shield them from paraquat’s dangers
• Protect yourself from paraquat and other toxic chemicals by checking local pesticide use, installing air and water filters, eating antioxidant-rich foods, supporting organic farming, and thoroughly cleaning anything exposed to agricultural chemicals

Paraquat, a toxic herbicide sold by Syngenta under the brand name Gramoxone, has been banned in more than 70 countries worldwide,1 as it’s been strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder characterized by tremors, muscle rigidity, slowed movement, and balance problems. According to studies, people who were exposed to paraquat were more likely to develop this disease.2

Thousands of farmers diagnosed with Parkinson’s have sued Syngenta,3 and in a massive legal move, the herbicide manufacturer have agreed to settle.4 This surge in litigation signals a growing recognition of paraquat’s dangers among the public — and growing outrage that companies withheld warnings for decades.

Syngenta's Settlement Isn't About Justice — It’s About Strategy

An article published by The New Lede and reposted by the Children’s Health Defense,5 reported that Syngenta has decided to settle thousands of lawsuits claiming their product paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease.6

The lawsuits were filed by over 5,800 individuals consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL) in federal court, with hundreds more cases pending in state courts across the U.S. Most came from people suffering from Parkinson’s, or from families who had watched loved ones decline into immobility, tremors, and cognitive changes due to paraquat exposure.

• Why did Syngenta settle? According to the company’s statement, it was to avoid the “cost and distraction” of litigation; they continue to insist that their product is safe.

“Entering into the agreement in no way implies that paraquat causes Parkinson’s Disease or that Syngenta has done anything wrong. We stand by the safety of Paraquat.

Despite decades of investigation and more than 1,200 epidemiological and laboratory studies of paraquat, no scientist or doctor has ever concluded in a peer-reviewed scientific analysis that paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease. This view is endorsed in science-based reviews by regulatory authorities, such as in the US, Australia and Japan,” the company said.7

• The settlement itself doesn’t cover every case — Some plaintiffs’ attorneys, particularly those with clients outside the MDL, expressed outrage, as they hadn’t been included in the settlement discussions.

• Paraquat’s victims are dying every day — Majed Nachawati, a lawyer whose clients were not included in the MDL, told a judge that as settlement talks continued behind closed doors, his clients were “dying every day.” Another attorney, Curtis Hoke, warned that unless Syngenta was forced into court, it would just keep delaying the reckoning.

He was right to worry. Syngenta had already successfully postponed several trials — including one set to begin just weeks before the settlement was announced.

This just goes to show that Syngenta’s move to settle is a calculated business decision, not a moral reckoning. It was not because the company admits its wrongdoing, but because continuing to fight would have risked exposure they couldn’t afford.

Syngenta Actively Worked to Conceal Paraquat’s Risks

Introduced in the 1960s by a Syngenta predecessor, paraquat became one of the most widely used herbicides on the planet. It’s deeply embedded in modern agriculture, and is used in orchards, wheat fields, pastures, and cotton farms across the U.S.

• Syngenta covered up paraquat’s health dangers for decades — According to the report, Syngenta’s own internal documents exposed that the company had known for years about scientific studies linking paraquat to Parkinson’s.

• The company actively ran a smear campaign against paraquat critics — Syngenta didn’t just ignore these studies; they launched campaigns to discredit the scientists and spin the findings, They used PR firms like v-Fluence, hiring them specifically to manage paraquat’s reputation.

If that sounds manipulative, it is. Instead of warning farmers, applicators, or rural communities, Syngenta doubled down. They withheld internal research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They tried to suppress real data. And all the while, Parkinson’s diagnoses kept piling up.

• Regulatory approval doesn’t mean a product is safe — It just means it hasn’t been banned yet. And public regulators often rely on corporate-submitted data to make their decisions. When that data is curated or misleading, the public pays the price.

• Behind this quiet settlement is a louder truth — The featured report noted that Syngenta most likely based its decision after what happened to Bayer when Roundup trials went public. Bayer lost the first trial, then its stock price crashed, its reputation tanked, and it spent billions trying to dig itself out.

Syngenta didn’t want that. They knew that if even one paraquat trial reached a jury and ended in a loss, the floodgates would open. They were trying to protect their bottom line — not your health.

Early Research Confirms Paraquat’s Link to Parkinson’s Disease

In 2011, National Institutes of Health (NIH) published an important investigative report that uncovered hard evidence linking paraquat use to a dramatically increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.8

Conducted in partnership with the Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, California, the research focused on paraquat and another pesticide (rotenone). The researchers looked closely at the chemicals’ effects inside human cells and how long-term exposure damages the nervous system and triggers this debilitating disease.

• Researchers compared Parkinson’s patients and healthy individuals — The study participants included 110 individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and 358 healthy controls drawn from the Farming and Movement Evaluation (FAME) Study, which researched farming practices and neurological health.

What they found was alarming — People who had used paraquat were about 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s compared to those who never used it.

• One key discovery was how paraquat behaves inside the body — Unlike some toxins that get flushed out quickly, paraquat stays active long enough to cause real harm. Freya Kamel, Ph.D., one of the study’s co-authors, explained that paraquat increases the production of harmful oxygen molecules that damage delicate cellular structures.

• Paraquat sabotages your mitochondrial function — Mitochondria are the energy storehouse of your cells, and are essential for keeping brain cells alive and functional. Once paraquat cripples them, it sets off a chain reaction of cell death, inflammation, and oxidative stress that eventually manifests as the tremors, stiffness, and slow movement that define Parkinson’s disease.

• The damage caused by paraquat isn’t random either — It hits the areas of the brain responsible for controlling voluntary movement the hardest. This selective destruction explains why Parkinson’s symptoms are so specific, affecting movement before progressing to cognitive decline.

What’s more, paraquat triggers Parkinson's when combined with plant lectins, according to a separate study.9 The researchers found that lectins transport the toxin straight into the brain. The cruel irony here is that paraquat is widely used on lectin-rich crops like wheat, soybeans, potatoes, cereal grains, and beans.

“We were able to demonstrate that if you have oral paraquat exposure, even at very low levels, and you also consume lectins […] then it could potentially trigger the formation of this protein — alpha-synuclein — in the gut. Once it's formed, it can travel up the vagus nerve and to the part of the brain that triggers the onset of Parkinson's disease,” the researchers said.

“This series of experiments demonstrates how the interplay between two ingested compounds can conspire to create and then transport toxic protein structures from the gut to the brain.”10

The EPA Delays Action While Thousands Continue to Suffer

An investigative report from The Washington Post revealed how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is postponing decisive action on paraquat despite rising evidence of its severe health consequences. The EPA claims that additional data is needed to resolve uncertainty around the herbicide, and the process of gathering additional studies could take at least four more years.11

• California’s own review linked paraquat to other serious health conditions — Even California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), often ahead of federal action, issued a scientific review linking paraquat not only to neurological harm but also to thyroid dysfunction and birth defects.

The EPA, however, claimed it hadn't had time to fully evaluate those findings — despite citing the report as a reason to suspend its own regulatory decision.

• In 2021, the EPA reapproved paraquat for another 15 years — The approval12 was challenged by Earthjustice, which filed a lawsuit against the EPA claiming the agency "repeatedly understated the extent of paraquat's adverse effects." In response to that lawsuit, the EPA asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow it to revisit its analysis of paraquat.13

• While agencies are delaying action, farmers continue to suffer — David Jilbert, a former vineyard owner in Ohio, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after years of directly handling paraquat, even though he had no genetic history of the disease. He suffered the typical symptoms like tremors, slow movement, muscle stiffness.

Despite wearing protective equipment and following safety protocols, Jilbert's exposure was still enough to irreversibly change his life, making it impossible for him to continue working.

• Jilbert’s story isn’t isolated — Charlene Tenbrink, a prune farmer in California, also developed Parkinson’s after decades of using paraquat, spraying it on her fields three times a week for seven years. “The labels do not tell you the danger. We’d give everything up that we have if we could go back and change what has happened to me,” she said.

• Farmers were not properly warned about paraquat’s long-term dangers — Tenbrink and Jilbert both believed they were safe because they followed the rules. They wore protective gear. They bought enclosed tractors. They read the labels. But they were never warned about the long-term risks. Like countless other farmers, they used paraquat in good faith — only to be blindsided by a devastating disease.

• “The data is the data” — Experts have criticized the EPA’s failure to act on strong scientific evidence. It’s obvious that the core of the problem isn’t lack of science — it’s institutional inertia and corporate influence.

Dr. Deborah Cory-Slechta, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center who has studied paraquat for decades, says that paraquat reaches the brain through inhalation and causes progressive, irreversible neurological damage. “The data is the data. The evidence is very strong, both based on animal studies and on epidemiological evidence the fact that it kills dopamine neurons,” she said.14

• Paraquat is so toxic that even a small sip could be fatal — Ironically, the EPA itself acknowledges paraquat’s extreme toxicity. In their website, they claim that “one small accidental sip can be fatal,” and there is no antidote. In China, paraquat was used as a suicide drug — in 2023, their suicide rates dropped significantly after paraquat was banned,15 showing just how lethal (and accessible) it really is.

This report shows that while regulators in Washington ask for more time and companies like Syngenta claim there's no proof, people across the country are living out the consequences. If you or someone you care about lives or works near areas that use paraquat, this isn’t just a political issue — it’s personal.

How to Protect Yourself from Paraquat’s Devastating Effects

Since paraquat attacks your brain and kidneys by triggering oxidative stress and mitochondrial failure, you need to eliminate as much exposure as possible and support your body's natural defenses against oxidative damage. Here’s what I recommend you start doing today:

• Know if paraquat is used near your home or workplace — Investigate if paraquat is sprayed in your area by checking state pesticide use databases or asking local farm bureaus. If you are living near farms that grow wheat, cotton, orchards, or pastures, you are at higher risk. Knowing your local risk is the first step to protecting yourself.

• Install high-quality air and water filtration systems — Paraquat drifts through the air and contaminates groundwater. I would strongly urge you to invest in an indoor air purifier with a true HEPA filter and an activated carbon layer. For water, use a reverse osmosis filtration system because standard filters are not enough to remove herbicide residues.

• Support your mitochondria with targeted nutrition — Your mitochondria are the first victims of paraquat exposure, and weak mitochondria make you more vulnerable to oxidative stress. Eat foods rich in antioxidants that naturally help neutralize reactive oxygen species, like berries, citrus fruits, carrots, and beets.

• Advocate for organic and regenerative farming practices — If you are a consumer buying produce, shift toward farmers and brands that avoid toxic chemical herbicides. If you are a farmer yourself, start exploring organic or regenerative farming systems that don’t rely on paraquat or similar toxins. Every purchase you make or conversation you start has power. Changing demand changes the system over time.

• Detox your home and habits — Wash all produce thoroughly, even organic. Take off your shoes before entering your home to avoid tracking in contaminated dust. If you handle any materials that could have paraquat on them, like work clothes from farming or landscaping jobs, wash them separately from your family's laundry. These small actions will help lower your cumulative exposure significantly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Syngenta’s Paraquat Herbicide

Q: What is paraquat and why is it dangerous?

A: Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide sold under the brand name Gramoxone, used widely in U.S. agriculture. It has been strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder characterized by tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with movement. Over 70 countries have banned it due to its severe health risks.

Q: Why did Syngenta settle thousands of lawsuits related to paraquat?

A: Syngenta settled more than 5,800 lawsuits from individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s after paraquat exposure. The company claimed the settlement was to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation, not because it admitted wrongdoing. Internal documents showed Syngenta knew about paraquat’s risks for years but worked to conceal them.

Q: What does the science say about paraquat’s link to Parkinson’s disease?

A: A 2011 NIH study found that people exposed to paraquat were approximately 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s. The herbicide triggers oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage, which leads to the death of dopamine-producing brain cells — directly tied to the onset of Parkinson’s symptoms.

Q: Why hasn’t the EPA banned paraquat in the U.S. yet?

A: Despite overwhelming evidence of harm, the EPA delayed regulatory action and reapproved paraquat for another 15 years in 2021. It now claims it needs more time to assess new data. Meanwhile, farmers continue to suffer debilitating effects, even when following all safety protocols.

Q: How can I reduce my risk of paraquat exposure and protect my health?

A: To protect yourself, identify if paraquat is used near your area, install HEPA air filters and reverse osmosis water systems, eat antioxidant-rich foods, support organic farming, and thoroughly clean items that could carry residues. Avoiding exposure is key to reducing your long-term health risks.

Sources and References

• 1, 11, 14 The Washington Post, January 22, 2025
• 2, 8 NIH, February 11, 2011
• 3, 13 Civil Eats, March 22, 2023
• 4 U.S. Court of Appeals, Case: 24-1865 Document: 69, April 14, 2025
• 5 Children’s Health Defense, April 16, 2025
• 6, 7 The New Lede, April 15, 2025
• 9, 10 NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2018 Sep 27;4:30
• 12 EPA, August 2, 2021
• 15 Front Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 4;14:1189923