20/01/2005 — In the science-fiction
classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers,
alien plants with destructive clone-manufacturing
world-domination plans threatened the future
of humanity. Bad news: the pods have arrived,
disguised as soybeans.
All of us concerned about genetically engineered
(GE) crops have been losing sleep for a
while over the relentless take-over of traditional
fields in many parts of the world. Now,
a new report reveals how thoroughly Argentina
has been taken over, and outlines previously
unimagined dangers for our future when an
entire country's agricultural system is
invaded by a clone-replicating force like
Monsanto.
Within the last 10 years, Argentina's agricultural
production system has become dominated by
one crop: the genetically engineered Roundup
Ready soybean developed by US agrochemical
company Monsanto. The large scale environmental,
social, and economic impact is unprecedented.
Agronomist Charles Benbrook warns that
the planting of 14 million hectares (34
million acres) of a single, genetically
homogenous crop has created a highly vulnerable
agricultural production system.
Pods vs. SuperWeed
Argentine soy production uses GE seeds
that are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate,
marketed under the trade name "Roundup."
Roundup Ready soy relies on repeated herbicide
applications to control weeds. As every
high school student knows, Nature abhors
an herbicide, and finds ways to evolve around
it. Already, strains of Roundup-resistant
weeds have appeared in Argentina, requiring
ever-heavier doses of the poison, killing
off microbes and degrading soil quality.
Heavy herbicide applications and widespread
planting of Roundup Ready soybeans has also
led to increases in pest and disease severity.
And when fungi and other threats to the
crop encounter none of the natural diversity
barriers to their spread, the possibility
of monoculture crop collapse increases significantly.
Take us to your feeders
But unlike the devastating Irish potato
famine of the nineteenth century, the soy
Argentina grows isn't actually feeding people.
The vast majority (above 80 percent) of
soybeans are bound for animal feedlots,
providing protein for cattle, hogs and poultry.
The European Union (EU) is the largest importer
of Argentinean soybean meal. Worse, farmland
which once produced subsistence crops and
legume forages now produce only soybean
monocultures. From 1996 to 2002 (the period
of major soybean production expansion) the
number of Argentineans lacking access to
basic nutrition grew from 3.7 million to
8.7 million. Production of meat, dairy products,
and eggs has dropped significantly, to be
replaced by soybeans destined for export
markets.
Sound like an alien force is taking over?
The invasion doesn't stop there.
Can't see the forest for the beans
After Roundup Ready technology was introduced
in 1996, the pace of land conversion has
increased dramatically. The soybean frontier
has expanded deeper and deeper into the
ecosystems of Argentina, with 5.6 million
hectares of non-agricultural land converted
for soybean production since 1996. That
compares to 2.4 million hectares converted
before 1996. The rate at which forests in
Northern Argentina are being turned into
soy plantations is 3-6 times higher than
the world average. The massive destruction
of the forests, in particular of the Yungas
and Chaco forests, has sparked violence
and protests by agrarian families desperate
to preserve their land. These forests also
support diverse animal populations, including
jaguars, pumas, monkeys, and more than 50%
of all bird species of Argentina.
Monopoly + monoculture = Mon$anto
You'd expect that such a rapid expansion
of soy production in Argentina must mean
big, big profits for the Argentine nation,
right? Think again. Not only is Roundup
Ready soy a monoculture, it's controlled
by a monopoly. Monsanto Corporation, the
American owners of the patent on both Roundup
and Roundup Ready soy, sets the price for
both the herbicide and the crop. Glyphosate
prices are going up in Argentina, and Monsanto
has announced that it intends to collect
retroactive royalty payments, and aggressively
enforce patent laws on Roundup Ready technology.
Adios to the profit margin for the farmer,
howdy big bucks for Monsanto.
To a nation suffering from international
debt, rising unemployment, and widespread
poverty, Roundup Ready soybean production
has offered little compensation, and Argentina's
economic vulnerability is worsened by the
volatile world soybean market.
A recent report by a team of US scientists
found that Argentina soybeans contain 5-10
percent less protein, with lower levels
of important amino-acids, than soybeans
from competing countries. Poor quality soybeans
also means less revenue. Buyers of Argentina
soybeans will likely seek price concessions.
And in Europe, widespread consumer rejection
of GE soy means little market for human
food production.
First, we take Buenos Aires, then we take
Beijing
Like any good alien invasion, this one is
bent on global domination. China is a major
importer of Argentinean soybeans. Because
China is the centre of biodiversity for
soy, any contamination of the wild soybean
species there could alter natural soybean
evolution irrevocably. And accidental release
during import, transport or processing poses
a major risk to related wild soybean species.
Take action
We demand:
• Not one single hectare of forest or other
natural ecosystems should be converted to
soy plantations in Argentina. We call on
the Argentine government to take immediate
action to protect Argentina's forests and
on international institutions and banks
to stop financing unsustainable agriculture
and forest conversion in the region.
• The use of genetically engineered soy
in Argentina should be phased out with a
view to implementing a ban on all genetically
modified organism (GMO) releases. The Argentine
government must respect consumer opposition
to GMOs by providing its citizens the right
to reject GMOs through mandatory food and
feed labelling and withdraw from the US-led
WTO case against the (now historical) de
facto ban on GMO approvals by the European
Union.
• The European Union - a key market for
Argentine GE soy (used for animal feed)
- should ban Roundup Ready soy . Greenpeace
calls on EU Member States not to re-approve
Roundup Ready soy when Monsanto's approval
for use of Roundup Ready soy expires in
2006. Moreover, the EU must provide its
citizens the right to reject GMOs in food
production by introducing mandatory GE labelling
for eggs, meat and dairy products if GE
animal feed has been used.
• In China - another major market for Argentine
GE soy - the risk of genetic contamination
of the worlds' centre of soy biodiversity
through GE soy imports must be acknowledged.
Strong measures to avoid such contamination
must be taken by the importers of GE soy
and the Chinese government, by banning GE
soy imports into China.
