Global Soy Summary

Over half of all soy grown in Canada is genetically engineered to be herbicide tolerant. Monsanto markets Roundup Ready Soy which is tolerant to its herbicide Roundup.

"The greatest emerging threat to Amazon rainforests and communities is industrial soy plantations...Biodiesel made from soya oil is taking over huge areas of Brazil's farmland, savannah and forest, with harvests surging from 1.5 million tons in 1970 to 57m in 2006. Soy production has already destroyed 21 million hectares of forest in Brazil, and 80 million hectares, including portions of the Amazon basin, remain that are suitable"- February 12, 2008, from Climate Ark Action Alert: Global Ecological Emergency: Brazil Must Succeed in Keeping Soybeans Out of Amazon

Soy in Paraguay

May 2011: Feature story on the terrible human tragedy of intensive GM soy farming.

In Paraguay, less than 2% of the population owns 70% of the land. The expansion of GE soy is now one of the main causes of land conflict, and one of the principal reasons for the increasing number of landless peasants. You may have seen the devastation wrought by expanding monocultures of Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) herbicide tolerant soy shown in the film "The World According to Monsanto". You can also find more information on this situation at www.lasojamata.net

Click her to view a clip about the pesticide-related deaths of children in Paraguay from Monsanto's herbicide sprayed on GE soy "Farms without Farmers"

In Paraguay, soy monoculture is taking land and livelihoods away from small-scale farmers. Rural, indigenous communities are frequently threatened with violent evictions from their land to make way for soy monoculture and pesticide poisonings have become a serious health issue.

"Ongoing human rights violations in Paraguay go hand in hand with the advancement of soy monocultures. Agribusiness corporations knowingly take advantage of the fact that in Paraguay corruption florishes, while environmental regulations or human rights are not respected" - Javiera Rulli (Paraguay) speaker "Crops, Cars & Climate Crisis"

Rural eastern Paraguay used to be full of jungle, small farms, schools and wildlife. Now it is a green sea of soybeans. This is what La Via Campesina call the green deserts.

"Responsible Soy" - "GM Toxic soy is not 'responsible'!"

June, 2010 :Launch of 'responsible' soy label face global opposition - new scheme opposed by 235 civil society groups

Can genetically engineered soy - grown with large amounts of agri-chemicals - ever be called 'responsible'? The damage that Monsanto's Roundup Ready soy has done in countries such as Argentina and Paraguay is enormous. Despite that, this very same soy will be labelled 'responsible' by The Round Table on Responsible Soy. Because this Round Table is supported by the World Wildlife Fund, GM toxic soy will be provided with a green image. Declaring GM products 'responsible' is a dangerous step that legitimises the further growth of toxic soy cultivation and will not protect the rainforest from further destruction. Read more at www.toxicsoy.org.

‘La Soja Mata’ (Soy Kills) campaign: La Soja Mata is a project supported by the organisations ASEED Europe and Corporate Europe Observatory. Some of us live or have worked in Paraguay and Argentina. This has resulted in many contacts with local people and organisations. Video reports can be watched at our site www.lasojamata.org.

See also the briefing: The Roundtable on Ir-responsible Soy: Certifying Soy Expansion, GM Soy and Agrofuels, April 2008