The Tyranny of Soy Agribusiness in Paraguay
From The Real News
President Fernando Lugo was elected in Paraguay, heading the Patriotic Alliance for Change, as the antidote to over 50 years of dictatorship. In particular, Lugo vowed to confront unequal distribution of land, where two percent of the population controlled 70 percent of the land.
Lugo further promised to deal with the proliferation of Genetically Modified Soybeans, occupying 25 percent of the total arable land in the country. Unfortunately, they have not been able to overcome the power of agribusiness giants Archer, Daniels, Midland, Cargill, Monsanto, and several Brazilian companies.
Industrial soybean farming has crowded out subsistence farmers, poisoned water sources and exposing humans, livestock, and wild species to dangerous pesticides and toxic contanimation. See the Real News piece for details…
