Soya Republic

Ben Backwell

1st February, 2003

As the people of Argentina are driven by economic collapse to the point of starvation, a new solution is being imposed upon them. Ben Backwell reports on a country being force fed genetically modified soya designed not for humans, but for cattle

‘There is no justification for hunger in a country with one of the greatest levels of food production per inhabitant,’ says the text on the slick website of the Soya Solidarity campaign. Underneath, a few shiny clean soya beans in front of the smiling face of a child. ‘Its time that we replace attitudes based in egoism, bureaucracy, corruption, indifference and “don’t interfere” with those of solidarity, ethics, action, and fundamentally, dignity,’ gushes the statement.

It goes on in a similar tone to describe soya, ‘Argentina’s principle crop’, as ‘a high quality food for human consumption, given that it contains proteins of a high biological value, rich in all the essential amino acids that can practically replace meat in our diet. For cultural reasons, the custom of consuming soya has not been developed. Now the moment to do so has arrived. This can be part of the solution for the hunger that many Argentines are suffering.

The statement concludes with an appeal for producers to donate soya for needy families, with the help of transport operators, storage centres and the media, ‘whose job is to let everyone know about this project...

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