The economies of these developing countries are receiving a boost, but groups such as Friends of the Earth are concerned by this soya boom. It is not only the Frankenfoods fears about the long-term effects of transgenic seeds in the food chain. FoE claims that green gold is displacing small farmers from their land and may even be poisoning communities.
On a recent visit to Paraguay with FoE, I saw trees burning in areas of deforestation and met people who claim to have been poisoned by chemicals used to grow GM crops.Over the past 12 months in Paraguay, the area planted with soy has grown to a record 2.6 million hectares, and most of it is GM. The World Land Trust estimates that more than 90 per cent of the Atlantic Rainforest in the south has been lost to make way for crops, taking with it thousands of unique bird and plant species and endangered animals, such as the jaguar.
The impact on communities is also cause for concern, according to FoE. Thousands of people claim to have been driven off the land that has sustained them for centuries. In the main square in the capital Asuncion, indigenous people have set up camp, and tarpaulin shacks by the sides of the road are a common sight now. FoE estimates that 100,000 people have been driven into the urban slums because of the expansion of soy production in Paraguay.
In Itakyru, in the east of the country, a forest community claims that poisons rained from the sky, resulting in women and children being taken to hospital.
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