Site with information about the impacts of large monocultures, specifically soy, on people's lives and the environment.
The Soy Campaign
A SEED's soy campaign questions large scale soy production in South America and supports sustainable and local food production in Europe. The campaign has the following goals:
To inform the general public about the social and ecological effects of the massive soy production in Latin America; land conflicts, violence, rising pesticide use, GMOs, deforestation, erosion and loss of food sovereignty.
To link the issue with meat production and consumption in Europe; Most of the soy is used as animal feed in Europe (and China). This meat industry creates animal cruelty and pollution by over-fertilisation.
To stop the current certification processes; nature conservation organisations and some NGOs, together with companies, are creating criteria for so called 'responsible soy' that are unacceptable for local peasants and don't question the current export-volume neither the use of genetically manipulated seeds.
To give direct support to local initiatives that fight the soy expansion by giving international attention to their struggle, doing solidarity actions in Europe and raising money.
While the problems related to soy production are continuously increasing, a new campaign focus is taking shape: fuel and electricity produced from agriculture products. Recently the threat of climate change and the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels has sped up this alarming development.
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Banner Action at GM Soy Conference
Tuesday, 09 December 2008
Land reforms! NO Steakholder Conferences!
Amsterdam - On the 9th of December (2008) A SEED Europe held a picket-line at a conference on genetically modified soy. The objective of the meeting was to discuss sustainability risks and benefits of GM soy and to formulate management options for companies. A SEED reminded participants upon arrival that not only is GM still controversial, but so is large-scale soy production in general. A SEED did not participate in the conference itself because the announcement made clear that in our eyes crucial poignant issues in the (GM) soy debate were not open for discussion.
The organisors want to have a dialogue with the soy industry and that is impossible if the use of GM crops or production reduction are on the table. Read more in below press release on the conference and the criticism of the peasant movements in the south and critical organisatons in the north.
Armed with a video camera we tried to get participants to share their motivations with us. Participants who evidently did not share our criticism, did not give much of a reply. Responses came from people who are also concerned about soy production, but do want to discuss their concerns with the soy industry. A third category were students that simply came to listen. They obviously benefit most from the information we were handing out.
Despite the announcement of the organisation expecting over 100 participants, we could not count more that 50 people entering the conference. This should be a disappointment for the organisation, the more so as the online GM soy debate, of which this conference is part, is still completely quiet.
A comment much heard at the entrence of the conference was that we should not stay outside but express our criticism inside. In addition to below press release again an answer to why not: If it would have been only about the pros and cons of GM, we could have given our opion inside. Nothing wrong with discussing that. But we have problems with the context of this meeting and reasons behind organising this debate. It is clear to us that it is ment to easen up the process of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (see below press release). Through this process the soy industry is trying to release pressure from increasing criticism on soy production. By implementing some marginal changes the involved companies hope to get a “Responsible-thus-Okay” stamp on their products and methods and for the rest continue with production, export and processing at the same scale.
GM is still a sensitive issue for the European consumer.Therefore this debate needs to show that this issue is being addressed and that an agreement on it between NGO's and industry is possible. But as long as the political context of the export-driven economical developments and objections of the small farmers in the soy producing countries are being taken for granted by involved companies and NGOs like Solidaridad and WWF, we see events like today's conference mainly as greenwash attempts and we prefere to stay out of them, rain of no rain.
We do not judge everybody that did decide to participate in the debate. Also we have sufficient contacts with participants to report soon on what was being discussed inside and what positions corporate representatives and researchers of Wageningen University expressed.
And here you find a short video made at the action. Camera work: Andreea. Editing: Pablo from Noticias
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PRESS RELEASE
GM soy and common sense do not go together! - Action at Conference on Genecally Modified Soy “Creating common sense on GM-soy”
On Tuesday December 9, 2008, A SEED will protest at the conference “Creating common sense on GM soy!”, where representatives from Solidaridad, WWF, Wageningen University and the soy industry are discussing the supposed possibility of managing sustainable genetically manipulated (GM) soy. On the conference website it is said that the “outcomes may be used by decision-makers around the world to make soy production more sustainable.”(1) This is the first time ever that 'NGO's' publicly come out as the advocate of gm soy and try to make it acceptable. In view of the devastation caused by (gm) soy to the South American continent, this is a more than appalling greenwash exercise.
Genetic manipulation is one of the main controversies at the Round Table for Responsible Soy(2). By finding compromises on this point the involved organisations hope to speed up the process of certifying Round-up ready soy for the European market. Moreover, the organisers refuse to see the issues of soy production and GMOs as a political conflict: The policy context (policy, regulation, law) is regarded as a constant factor in the short-term and is therefore not subject to discussion or recommendations.”(3) This makes a useful discussion impossible, already in advance.
There are more reasons why we are against this debate about the acceptance of GM-soy:
GM The main drivers behind the introduction of genetic manipulated soy are the seed companies. The same companies are involved in selling the pesticides that go together with the GM-variety. In most cases this is the seed multinational Monsanto with it's herbicide Round-up and it's 'roundup-ready' GM-soy beans. Despite all nice promises, in practice the use of herbicides has increased after the introduction of GM-soy. The main argument to use GM-crops is a higher yield. But in practice, the GM crops are not performing as they were expected to do. The costs are increasing, while the average GM yield many times decreases in comparison with conventional crops. (4) It is possible to speculate about theoretical future gm applications, but this is not the current tough reality that South America has to deal with. The only interesting question should be WHY the introduction of GM-soy can be allowed to continue.
Soy The current production of soy has many negative social and ecological impacts. Most organisations and companies agree on this. The core of those problems are the volume of the production and the scale of the monoculture. The only real solution is to reduce the soy production and consumption in order to free land for small farmers, local food production and nature. Voluntary certification does not do anything to stop the growing demand for soy. Companies and some NGOs inside this conference have the opinion that this is unrealistic. But the reality is that many small farmers lost their land and their livelihood and still want it back. The reality is that the inhabitants of those soy-republics would like to have a healthy diet too, away from roundup-ready soy fields. The reality is that most soy is used for meat production and that this is an inefficient way to feed people. Another reality is that the Chinese and Indian people are starting to copy our diet and our consumption pattern, something we (in the west) are not in the position to comment on. Continuing with the current production volume and export to Europe is neo-colonial and perverse.
The Round Table on Responsible Soy Officially this GM-soy debate is not part of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), “an international multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together those concerned with the impacts of the soy economy.” But Solidaridad and WWF, the two initiators of this debate, are both actively involved in the RTRS as well. A 'successful' outcome of this conference can speed up the process of the Round Table. Due to its participants and limited goals we don't believe that the Round table can have a positive outcome. A possible reduction of production and export is not even a goal of the Round Table. The big landowners don't talk about land reforms, the main soy traders don't talk about a reduced export and the biggest butchers don't talk about a reduction of meat consumption. But as long as they sit around their round table they can say that they are trying to solve the apparent social and ecological problems. It is a typical example of greenwashing and this debate today is part of it.
For land reform, for food sovereignty, for the right to live in a healthy environment free of agrotoxics!
More information on the Round Table process, social consenquences of soy cultivation and the peasants' struggles can be found at http://www.lasojamata.org
More information on A SEED's campaigns at the soy and GM sections of this site.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 20 December 2008 )
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Soy 
Amsterdam - On the 9th of December (2008) A SEED Europe held a picket-line at a conference on genetically modified soy. The objective of the meeting was to discuss sustainability risks and benefits of GM soy and to formulate management options for companies. A SEED reminded participants upon arrival that not only is GM still controversial, but so is large-scale soy production in general. A SEED did not participate in the conference itself because the announcement made clear that in our eyes crucial poignant issues in the (GM) soy debate were not open for discussion.
The organisors want to have a dialogue with the soy industry and that is impossible if the use of GM crops or production reduction are on the table. Read more in below press release on the conference and the criticism of the peasant movements in the south and critical organisatons in the north.