Corteva

DOJ/EPA — Corteva (CTVA); Contributed $193M to $1.185B PFAS water systems settlement (2023), liability inherited from DowDuPont merger; co-liable with DuPont (DD) and Chemours (CC) for PFAS contamination of public water systems across the US; liability traces to original DuPont manufacturing operations

Corteva Agriscience is a global manufacturer of agricultural pesticides and seeds, deriving the majority of its revenue from this portfolio. The company produces and markets synthetic pesticides, including formulations containing chemicals linked to significant ecological and human health harms. A 2020 analysis found that more than a third of pesticide sales by major firms, including Corteva, contained chemicals highly toxic to human health, bees, or aquatic life.

The company’s herbicide Enlist Duo, a combination of 2,4-D and glyphosate, was the subject of a decade-long legal campaign by the Center for Food Safety over its risks. Both active ingredients have been linked to an elevated risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In February 2026, Corteva canceled the nationwide registration for this product following litigation. Separately, in December 2022, a federal appeals court ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully approved the expanded use of another Corteva pesticide, sulfoxaflor, by failing to adequately consider its risks to bees. Corteva is also a defendant, alongside Syngenta, in a 2025 antitrust lawsuit filed by twelve state attorneys general. The complaint alleges the companies used “illegal” loyalty programs to block generic pesticides from the market, maintaining high prices for their products.

Corteva Agriscience, a global agricultural chemical and seed company, conducts animal testing as part of the safety assessment and regulatory submission process for its pesticide products. This includes tests on species such as dogs, which are required by regulators like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for product approvals. In 2019, an undercover investigation and public campaign highlighted a specific Corteva study involving beagles, leading the company to end the test and release the dogs to a shelter.

The company participates in industry efforts to develop alternative testing methods, as evidenced by its laboratory's involvement in a 2024 OECD ring trial validation for a non-animal toxicology assay. However, as a major producer of pesticides and genetically engineered seeds treated with those chemicals, Corteva's ongoing product development pipeline remains subject to regulatory frameworks that mandate animal testing for new agricultural compounds.