The
LA Times reports, ‘The Amazon lost some 10,000 square miles of forest cover last year alone -- 40 percent more than the year before.” Among the players responsible for this rainforest destruction are multinational, international agribusinesses such as Cargill, Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland, companies investing in growing genetically modified soy. The U.S. company, Cargill, built a soy processing and port facility in Santarém, Brazil, without the environmental impact assessment required by the Brazilian government.
Wikipedia lists the main producers of soy around the world as the United States (32%), Brazil (28%), Argentina (21%), China (7%) and India (4%). Of the 32% of global production of soy in the U.S., 85% percent was genetically modified by 2004, accounting for some 63.6 million acres of soybeans.
Who is driving this steam engine of environmental destruction? You guessed it, Monsanto.
There are many markets for soy pushing the global expansion for soy production. Apart from its use in baby food, oils, delicious packaged cookies, breads and tofu—much of which we’ll find in the traditional vegetarian diet—Friends of the Earth reports the majority of soy produced in Latin America is exported to Europe and China where it is used as animal feed in intensive livestock production. “…demand for soybeans will soar in the coming decades. This has two main causes: the increasing use of soy animal feeds to meet the rapidly growing global demand for meat, eggs, chicken and dairy: The FAO expects the demand for meat and dairy products to double between now and 2050. Secondly, the ill-considered goals of the EU, the USA, Brazil, and other countries for the large scale deployment of agricultural crops for transport fuel and power generation.”
If you thought you weren’t eating genetically modified soy, the next time you pop into KFC or McDonalds think again. The beef or chicken you are chomping on was raised on the genetically modified soy you avoid by not drinking soy milk or eating tofu.
Bob Williamson is the Chair & Founder of the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation. He has long crusaded for the need to change from the present course we are on in the developed and fast developing nations. A respected environmentalist with many national and international awards, he is committed to adding his voice to that for change; to a future safe for all. You can follow Bob on twitter.
