A California woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against Florida Crystals, claiming the company’s practice of sugarcane burning contradicts claims that its farming practices fight climate change.

As the Palm Beach Post reports, “The lawsuit, filed on behalf of California resident Macy Merrell, said the West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals promotes its sugar as environmentally friendly — a practice known as ‘greenwashing’ — while contributing to climate change, air pollution and soil degradation.”

The Post continues: “According to studies cited in the complaint, preharvest burns generate more emissions than green harvesting methods, which involve cutting the cane without burning away the outer leaves. Merrell argued that by burning sugarcane while touting its environmental commitment, Florida Crystals intentionally misleads consumers who are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products.”

Florida Crystals did not respond to the Post’s requests for comment.

Whether or not the suit is successful, we’ve called “bullsugar” on sugarcane burning for years. Our “No Big Sugar” page features photos of cane fields set alight, our open letter to policy-makers details how “Big Sugar burns nearly half a million acres of sugarcane for eight months of the year, poisoning the air in blue-collar, predominantly Black communities. 

And our friends at Friends of the Everglades have done extensive work documenting the harm of sugarcane burning.

Yet the burns continue — only when the wind is blowing away from the wealthy coastal communities and toward those blue-collar communities. Other sugar-producing nations have transitioned away from burning, but not Florida’s Big Sugar companies.

It will be very interesting to see if this lawsuit gets to the discovery stage, when Florida Crystals might be compelled to divulge what it knows about the true impact of burning on nearby communities.

Stay tuned.

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