Feature story - September 5, 2005
SALTA PROVINCE, Argentina — In Argentina precious forest is being bulldozed at a rate of a soccer pitch area every three minutes - all for soya crops to feed pigs and chickens in Europe and China. We are out to stop this destruction with the Greenpeace Jaguar team.
Greenpeace "jaguars" prowl the forests of Argentina to stop destruction and the expansion of genetically engineered soya.
Across South America the bulldozers of industrial agriculture,
dragging mammoth chains, are destroying huge swathes of diverse
ancient forests. Indigenous peoples, and rare species like jaguars,
are being swept aside to make space for huge, chemical intensive
soya monocultures, often planted with genetically engineered
soya.
Raising demand for soya for animal feed is fuelling the
destruction that is encouraged by governments in Argentina, Brazil
and Paraguay, in partnership with huge agricultural corporations
like Monsanto.
Left unopposed, this means that many huge forests will disappear
in the next few years. We are taking action to stop this
destruction and make a stand for the indigenous people and rare
species of the forest. Last years the Greenpeace jaguars first
appeared on the scene to block the bulldozers and rally thousands
of people to pressure the Argentinian government to halt the
destruction. Because the government failed to act against the
destruction the jaguar team are back this year, now with a
helicopter to spot the bulldozers in the difficult terrain.
"Companies are failing to act responsibly, and the Argentinian
Government stands by while rampant deforestation continues," said
Emiliano Ezcurra, Greenpeace Argentina forests campaigner. "We're
here to place ourselves between bulldozers and trees to stop the
destruction of these last remaining ancient forests".
Road to ruin
The social consequences are just as devastating; government
supported GE Soya landlords forcibly evict small farmers and
indigenous communities from their land. All the trees knocked down
by bulldozers are discarded onto huge piles, often kilometres long,
and set alight. The cleared land can only support the GE soya
monoculture for a few years before the soil nutrients disappear.
The options then are to use more chemical fertilizers or just leave
the land to become a desert and move on to clear more forest. This
cycle contributes to climate change, biodiversity loss and human
rights violations.
The money earned by these countries from soya exports won't last
for long. But the priceless forest ecosystem and the unique
indigenous people will be gone forever.
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