Soya landscapes

Argentina, also known before as the granary of the world, suffers from hunger.

Argentina, also known before as the granary of the world, suffers from hunger. Since it started specializing in the production of soy and soy products, its nutritional sovereignty has been in peril. In this South American country, this was launched in 2003 to get Argentina out of the worst economic crisis in the country's history, by making it a supplier of basic raw material.

These immense lands are no longer occupied by gauchos and their cattle, but rather by spewing aircrafts saturated with Glifosates and Endosulfan who travel across the soybean fields that now belong to pools of investors. For the short-term profitability of the hectares, where the soybeans grow in a style known as "Roundup Ready" which involves genetic modifications to increase productivity, de-throning yesterday's smallholder farmers wasn't such a bad thing. Gauchos are no longer necessary for the operation of these extensive lands today, which are built for accommodating tenants. Nowadays, 4x4s suffice for such operations of exploitation, from a financial and administrative standpoint.
Soy culture is voracious and dries the fields in very little time. It causes imbalances in the ecosystem and leads to more deforestation. In many countries, this soy farming methodology is causing dispute and conflict.
Monsanto, an agriculture company known for organizing a military coup in Paraguay in May 2012, announced its investment of 1.67 billion dollars to build a plant for the manufacturing of GMO (genetically modified) seeds in the village of Malvinas Argentina, a suburb of the city of Cordoba. President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner was involved in the New York press conference presenting the project, despite the fact she also filed the first lawsuit in Cordoba in the name of fighting environmental pollution. The lawsuit was filed against two operators and a fumigator. /

La soja cubre más de 20 millones de hectáreas del territorio argentino. Son 200.000 kilómetros cuadrados sembrados con semillas transgénicas diseñadas para soportar fumigaciones con productos altamente tóxicos que se pulverizan desde avionetas y tractores mosquitos. Este modelo de monocultivo, presentado como única solución para vencer al hambre de la población mundial, remplazó en 10 años a la ganadería y modificó radicalmente el panorama del campo argentino. Sin paisanos, sin vacas, sin insectos ni árboles; el poroto parece devorar el paisaje y cubrir con sus hojas verdes toda la superficie a la vista. Los desmontes, para plantar cada vez más soja, extienden la frontera agropecuaria y desplazan a los insectos y animales de su hábitat natural generando un desequilibrio en el ecosistema que provoca problemas ambientales como aludes, inundaciones e incendios.

El debate sobre los peligros de ese nuevo tipo de cultivos quedaron en segundo plano frente a la necesidad urgente de la Argentina de recomponer su economía después de la peor crisis que sufrió el país a principio de siglo. El costo de ser un laboratorio a gran escala se compensa con el precio que pagan los mercados emergente por una planta de la que Argentina es hoy día literalmente dependiente.