Cornucopia’s Take: As a world leader in GMO soy exports, Argentine farmers increased the amount of herbicide sprayed by 1,000% between 1994 and 2010. Unsurprisingly, people living in farmed areas have likewise seen a marked increase in respiratory issues, skin rashes, and cancer.
The villagers who fear herbicides
BBC News
by Grace Livingstone
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Source: Mariano Mantel |
Argentina is one of the world’s largest exporters of genetically-modified soya. It’s big business, but some local residents fear herbicides used by the industry could be making them sick.
Horacio Brignone lives in the village of María Juana in the Argentine flatlands, or pampas. From his window he can see fields of soya.
His 20-year old son has suffered from asthma since he was three years old, he says, but when he recently moved to a city the condition disappeared.
“He hasn’t had an attack for two years since he went to study in Córdoba,” says Horacio. “But when he came home for two months recently, he began to cough again.”
