ST. LOUIS - A federal judge will decide whether to consolidate several lawsuits over genetically engineered rice under one class-action suit that would include thousands of rice farmers throughout the United States.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry heard arguments in the case Thursday that hinged on whether farmers suffered economic damage after a strain of Bayer CropScience AG's experimental rice was released into the food supply in 2006.

Some foreign countries temporarily banned U.S. rice exports after the release of the so-called Liberty Link rice, drying up key foreign markets and causing the price for U.S. rice to drop. ... Read full article