Industrial agricultural model and chaos

Carlos Mora Vanegas

Much criticism has been the reality of the scope of industrial agricultural model currently operating in those countries that are exploiting their land in favor of growing the food demand. The social cost is extremely high to reach.

Not surprisingly, Environment and Society indicate, in its publications,

industrial agriculture model that has gripped the country, is changing significantly the social and environmental world stage. Millions of hectares of arable land and produce no food, no need farmers. Biodiverse crops of fruit, vegetables, forests and mountains, seas have become monocultures of different plants and trees.

It wreaks havoc on ecosystems, causing floods, droughts, desertification and pollution of water resources. And generated impoverishment and mass migration of peasants to the belts of the big cities.

Humanity faces its greatest challenge, requires profound changes in agricultural policies, environmental and social. And there is no time for half measures, because hunger can not wait.

Eradicating poverty and world hunger is possible. La Via Campesina offers a viable alternative to the food system collapse. Food sovereignty. Proposes to deepen the local circuits of production and consumption. Agriculture based on the production of small and medium producers, inseparable from the care of the land and caring for the ecosystem in which they are settled, using agroecological methods.

Everyone should be part of that change, make an effort, because as consumers we must modify some of our behaviors, such as a gradual reduction in the consumption of animal protein.

Life in big cities keeps us from the environmental, draws a veil over our eyes makes us understand the importance in our lives, the way food is produced to arrive at our table every day. Also where they occur and how they are transported to us.

Taking away the veil, we find that our future depends in large part of what we consume today and still we can decide the planet that we leave our children. And this is true for everything we consume in our life, not just food.

Chakravarthi Raghavan comment, Jean Ziegler, special rapporteur of the United Nations Organization (UN) on the Right to Food, in a report to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights urged all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to end the current imbalances and injustices of the Agreement on Agriculture of the organization and reflect on the needs and rights of developing countries and industrialized as well as to ensure that international standards trade does not threaten the right to food. He made his appeal after learning of the conclusion of the Organization of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the fight against global hunger and malnutrition has almost ceased.

"We must urgently ensure the livelihood of poor farmers, who constitute 75 percent of the 1,200 million poorest people in the world to feed themselves with dignity?, Ziegler said, and called for a revision of model-oriented agricultural export, threatening the livelihoods of millions of rural farmers, especially if economic restructuring does not produce new jobs in other sectors.

Recent studies revealed that the agricultural model based on the mechanization of the cultivation and marketing of agriculture in the developing world will cause the displacement of poor farmers from their land, unable to obtain employment in the industries.

Ziegler recommended in its report to consider food sovereignty as an alternative model for agriculture and agricultural trade, so that governments fulfill their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the right to food, "a fundamental human right protected by the right internationally?.

grr.org.ar / documents gives us about the case of Argentina, where the agricultural model transgenic production of commodities is the actual cause of much of the evils we suffer. The depopulation of agricultural areas, the deterioration of biodiversity, pollution of soils and watersheds and the displacement of traditional crops that food meant for our people, is now added the threat of desertification of soils as well as the possibility collapse of fragile ecosystems.

Government responses to the successive crises and risks posed by biotech model are distressing, inadequate and escapist ... the dangers of desertification is met by enabling the RR corn, with the serious consequence of irreversible genetic pollution of our ancient maize and improved as has happened in nine states of Mexico, which at best can only mean a semblance of a mere aggregate turnover and soil organic matter, and insisting on the same patterns chemicals that accelerate the development of tolerance in weeds. The same corn harvester pulling by the tail, are weeds in the next rotation of RR Soybeans taking different agrochemicals to use another glyphosate to kill them. At the risk of a monoculture based economy will respond with the "discovery? market and China's economy, leaving aside growing European market and starting a business relationship highly uncertain results. A mounting evidence of the unsustainability of soy model respond with deepening, with the design of new rail networks to transport soybeans to the Pacific MERCOSUR, with further privatization of ports and the construction of silos and oilers to reach the hundred million tonnes of grain exports.

A growing criticism that arise from various sectors on these policies are responding with more plans of soy-based food, to legitimize the model that way, even at the cost of criminal damage and serious food for needy sectors

Meanwhile, when the world says the growing failure of Argentina as a great experiment of massive introduction of GMOs, CONABIA, the National Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, a lobby of multinationals located in the Ministry of Agriculture, add new releases GM to hundreds of genetically modified seeds are currently under the category of open field testing. The strategy irresponsible, criminal, and so far away with these officials organic these transnational companies is increasing so that GM contamination are not valid and consistent arguments against these policies or may exist back to other types of agricultural practices .

Rural Reflection Group makes some proposals in order to prioritize the complaint soy monocultures Model and its relation to the Debt and borrowing system. We propose a five-year national moratorium against deforestation. We also propose the termination of the UPOV convention that binds us to the big grain companies and encouraging domestic production of seeds that will enable us to reach another agricultural model. We urgently need to regain control of the Foreign Trade and restore the National Grain and Meat, while pricing support for productions, such as lentils and rice, bring to the table of the Argentines. We need honest officials in the sector, working for the country and not as now bribed by multinationals. We need a national project and we need to rebuild the state to provide the necessary tools that will ensure food sovereignty of Argentines.

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