Argentina: Government Shows Signs of Siding With Farmers in Dispute With Monsanto
Argentina: Government Shows Signs of Siding With Farmers in Dispute With Monsanto
The world’s third largest soy exporter may have just dealt another blow to the multi-national agricultural company Monsanto.
A simple decree by the Argentine government regarding food inspection may signal an even bigger step in the right direction for the South American country in the future.
The issue surrounds the fact that Monsanto has been demanding that
exporters inspect cargo to determine whether or not farmers had paid the
requisite royalties to produce the company’s genetically modified
soybeans. Monsanto is claiming that Argentine farmers have benefited
immensely from the Intacta technology and is demanding that everyone pay
to use it.
For about a year, Monsanto has been pressuring shipping companies and
demanding that the companies notify it when crops produced with Intacta
technology are scheduled to be exported without corresponding
documentation proving that royalties had been paid to Monsanto.
The Intacta soybeans in question are genetically engineered to have a
gene that protects them against worms that target the plant. Monsanto
is demanding royalties for grains produced even by second generation
seeds. Farmers, however, argue that Argentinian law does not require
that they pay for second generation production and are asking the
government to stop private companies from acting as food inspectors.
