Argentina takes a stand against Monsanto
The battle against genetically modified organisms has become a global goal, and few places have seen the fight as strongly as Argentina. After an announcement…
Argentina wanted nothing to do with a Monsanto factory. (Shutterstock)
The battle against genetically modified organisms has become a global goal, and few places have seen the fight as strongly as Argentina.
After an announcement by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner that Monsanto was to build the worlds largest genetically modified seed processing plant in the town of Malvinas, citizens took to the streets to show they wanted nothing to do with GMO products.
SEE ALSO: GMO wheat: A potential cause of liver disease, death?
“We first heard about the arrival of Monsanto and their claim that they were going to build what would have been the worlds largest genetically modified seed processing plant in our town, Malvinas, by way of a media announcement by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, while she was in the United States,” Vanessa Satoris from The Malvinas Assembly in Argentina, told Upside Down World. “Malvinas is already a very polluted city a contaminated city. It’s surrounded by soy crops and the fumigation is toxic. Half of our town’s 12,000 inhabitants are children under 18, and the children are suffering terrible health consequences because of the fumigation.”
According to Satoris, “the health issues in Malvinas from exposure to pesticides was already unbelievable, with women experiencing spontaneous abortions, children developing high rates of cancers and leukemia, and innumerable asthma, allergy and respiratory problems plaguing the residents. Putting in a Monsanto plant 800 meters from the town’s largest school would have been a death sentence,” she said.
The concern over Monsanto’s appearance didn’t just have to do with the fact a potential polluting factory was coming into town; Latin America has been fighting genetically modified food for a handful of years. Monsanto, as the world’s leading genetically modified organism (GMO) producer, has taken the brunt of the backlash, and the company’s products have been indicated in a number of unfavorable studies.
In 2012, a major study on Monsanto’s genetically modified corn suggested laboratory rodents fed the product died earlier than their counterparts and developed significantly more mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage. Another study, this time from the University of Canterbury, linked GMO wheat to genetic silencing, a process that can permanently turn off important functions in the human body and be passed to future generations. Last but not least, genetically modified soy?which Argentina has notoriously fought against?is considered the primary reason for glyphosate poisoning, the main ingredient in Monsantos pesticide.
Monstanto first made public notice with GMO corn. (Shutterstock)
In light of all the negatives associated with a GMO plant, residents of Malvinas took a stand outside Monsanto’s construction site where they were eventually joined by thousands of people from all over Latin America.
“There were neighborhood organizations and community groups; people from the South who were fighting a mining project, and the assembly from la Rioja who had stopped the mining in their area; there were indigenous people from Chaco and Paraguay and some from Brazil, who are also fighting against genetically modified soy; there were many from Uruguay and even Central America,” said Satoris.
“The feeling for all was the same we had to stop the monster of Monsanto. Many journalists also came to cover the story. It was then that we decided to create a permanent camp at the gates of the site until Monsanto withdraws from Malvinas, Argentina.”
In 2014 activists got their wish; however, it was primarily due to the fact Monsanto failed to comply with paperwork needed prior to their construction initiation. Local courts ruled the company needed to wait until all permits were legal and until they submitted a satisfactory report on how the plant would impact the environment.
“Monsanto will lash back,” Satoris added. “They will try again. And all political parties agree on the topic of Monsanto: the President of Argentina is one party and that supports Monsanto, the governor of Cordoba is another and that supports Monsanto, and the mayor of Malvinas yet another and that supports Monsanto. There are no differences, all are unfortunately aligned under money. Monsanto will also try and buy people. Last year, in 2014, Monsanto worked very hard in the town of Malvinas to try and show people it is good and try and win their support using the typical patronage system that other multinationals use in small towns offering all expenses paid trips to big cities and towns, such as La Roja or Buenos Aires, or things like trainings, craft workshops, scholarships to students, cultural art workshops for children, as well as gifting things like mate, thermoses, notebooks and pens.”
SEE ALSO: Monsanto poisons Argentina’s environment and people
Despite the efforts of Monsanto to buy important influence in Latin America, the public is remaining strong. Even though construction has halted at the site, even now the Malvinas camp stands strong at its location.
Should Monsanto ever return, Satoris is confident people will once again show up in full force to oppose the company. She herself believes that, “If we can stop Monsanto, we can change the world.”
