The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

272 the world according to monsantoneighboring province of Tucumán. The governor himself owns several thousandacres not far from here. “We cut down, we burn, then we plant soybeans,”the man said.We went on. Lorenz and Colonel had heard rumors of a huge operationof illegal deforestation about a hundred miles away. It involved a sixtythousand-acreparcel recently acquired by an investor. On paper, Argentinelaw is very strict: in order to be able to cut down trees, owners have to get apermit setting the percentage of deforestation authorized, depending on thetype of soil. In this sector, classified “fragile,” that figure could not exceed 15percent. “But once again,” said Colonel, “soybean money took care of makingthe arrangements.” Corruption and the lack of sanctions gave free rein tothe bulldozers spreading desolation as far as the eye could see.“They say they’re extending the frontiers of agriculture, but they’re reallyleaving a desert behind,” Colonel went on. “They’ll grow soybeans for a yearor two and then they’ll be forced to leave. The fertility of this soil is tied tovegetation that is a thousand years old; when it disappears, the soil is soonimpoverished.”“This is a fragile environment, because we are in an arid or semi-arid climatezone,” Lorenz explained. “Deforestation leads to a decline in the reservesof organic matter, causing erosion of the soil, which loses its ability tohold water. At the level of an entire watershed, water from gullies causesflooding in other areas. Deforestation is the source of the unusual floods weexperienced recently in the province of Santa Fé. In addition, with the techniqueof direct planting, the Roundup sprayed stays on the surface; when itrains the herbicide residue is washed away by the flow of water and pollutesother areas in the watershed. The water mammals drink contaminates themand therefore the cows’ milk, and so on.”“Unfortunately, that’s not the sojeros’ problem,” Colonel said. “They arelarge companies or businessmen who come from Santa Fé or Córdoba andtreat soybeans like a raw material. A subcontractor sends a man with a machinethat plants, another sends a man with a plane to spray, and a third onecomes with a combine that harvests the beans and takes them away. Theydon’t use any local labor, except when they cut down the trees.”“We’re really in an emergency situation, but no one in an official positionhas understood that yet,” Lorenz concluded. “It’s very serious, because thedamage is irreversible.”