The countdown to the world's barn

The countdown to the world's barn

By Graciela Cristina Gómez

In the month of September, the National Farmer's Day was celebrated in Esperanza, Santa Fe. Ricardo Mascheroni, a researcher at the UNL, made calculations: "if today the world abandoned the burning of hydrocarbons and switched to biofuels, it would be necessary to plant a number of hectares equivalent to several planets, by logical consequence, there will be more hunger and more environmental devastation .

In the month of September, the National Farmer's Day was celebrated in Esperanza, Santa Fe. The activity was organized by INTA, Codetea, the Rural Society and the Municipality. Eng. Héctor Huergo, Director of Clarín Rural, said in the press conference prior to the talk: "The planet's temperature increases due to the increase in greenhouse gases, so measures are adopted and within these measures the boost to biofuels. This has come in handy for Argentina ”“ we won this game 4-0 and we still haven't gone out onto the field to play it ”. (1)

Intensive course available to everyone

Rural Clarín, in addition to showing the benefits of soy, how to harvest more and better by shrinking the spaces from 52cm to 35cm between rows, if possible also in balconies and flowerpots in their homes, and recognizing that the “mosquito "Only 30% of the agrochemical that is applied reaches the target, the rest is lost due to poor regulation, or maintenance, imagine its operation near urban areas, without legislation that is respected, without anyone to control and protect the health of the population, blame the poor regulation of the "mosquito" or the wind that exceeds 20 km and humidity greater than 50% if the fumigation is aerial. (2)

The supplement also teaches you how to be rich and successful "with the next soy." One of the most widely read newspapers in Argentina that should inform the people of the pollution that exists in Santa Fe and other provinces, chooses to be the showcase for multinationals.

“The biggest harvest in history is coming”, “there is no industry in the country that moves such an investment”, “they just want to produce more and more”, and “the government is going to fall into the temptation to take a new bite out of the manna de las pampas ”, he predicted annoyed because there is a rumor of an increase in withholdings for soy.

In 2006 soybean cultivation consumed 94% of the glyphosate used in Argentina, about 178 million liters. Not satisfied with these results, "in terms of weeds we were taking a nap," said Daniel Tuesca of UNR, announcing that everything that does not destroy glyphosate will be done by the new herbicide Cerillo, from Syngenta, presenting it to the audience. (3)

Instead of rewarding with monthly promotions, Huergo engineer, dedicate yourself to raising awareness among the population of the environmental damage that your "manna from the pampas" produces, (4) report the pros and cons, just the truth, because nobody is in Against the countryside doing well, but not at the expense of the health of the population. (5)

The province that protects us:

Governor Obeid, in another act, recalled: "When we presented the project we talked about three types of promotional policies: the first is credit, subsidizing rates up to zero in all projects to install biofuel plants." “The second is a tax exemption program that also reduces all investment taxes on this issue to zero; and the third is this agreement with Conicet and the UNL, through the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, so that all technological support is provided by these organizations to those who wish to install this type of undertaking. The projects are going to be financed by the Government of the Province of Santa Fe ”. (6)

He forgot to provide these same benefits to the people flooded twice, to the ranchers who lost thousands of cows, first due to the flood, then due to the droughts in the north of the province, he forgot the state of emergency in the departments Vera, General Obligado, July 9 and part of San Cristóbal, (7) of desertification and loss of the wooded wedge, for which Engineer Martín Simón, head of Fundapaz, stated “It can be clearly seen that the current government facilitated deforestation without precedents in the province ”. From 2000 to today deforestation tripled in Santa Fe, this means that in the province we have lost, only in that period of time, 31 percent of our forests ”(8) he also forgot that when he wants to get something out of expeditiously, as it did with the biofuels law, No. 12,692 / 06, regulated "at the touch" on February 1, 2007 by Decree No. 158/07, that the Phytosanitary Law No. 11,273 awaits the other half sanction of its reform from In 2004, those sick with pesticides also expect compensation for the environmental damage caused. Just as he resolved before leaving the chair, appoint members of the Court, holding the festival of subsidies, patching up the disasters he made during his mandate and promising to return in 4 years. Mr. Obeid, those are the strawberries for the dessert you leave us ”(9)

Ricardo Mascheroni, a researcher at the UNL, made calculations: "if today the world abandoned the burning of hydrocarbons and switched to biofuels, it would be necessary to plant a number of hectares equivalent to several planets by logical consequence, there will be more hunger and more environmental devastation. Furthermore, biofuels, as they are proposed, will not mitigate climate change: "The combustion of biodiesel produces more nitrogen oxides, which in the atmosphere produce a greenhouse effect 24 times higher than that of carbon dioxide". (10)

"The rivalry between food and biofuels does not exist"

The phrase belongs to the specialist José Luis Cordeu, (UN-for Agriculture and Food- FAO), who spoke during the second day of the Global Bio-Energy Forum, within the framework of the Food and Biofuels Plenary Conference; then he asked the public to give an ovation to the goal of Leonel Messi, of the Argentine Soccer Team that was playing the Copa América at that time. Doesn't the specialist read or listen to news? It is preferable that he continues to cheer for goals and not give more lectures, because this "ball" that he has just "shot" went too far from the door in the meeting room of the Rosario Stock Exchange. (eleven)

You do not know that in Argentina the price of tomatoes is through the roof, potatoes and squash are already a luxury, that our world famous barbecue is now part of the garnishes and the main course vegetables, as long as you can enjoy it, of course, the cows have nowhere to graze, we will put them on the roofs of the houses, the horticultural farms will continue to disappear to make way for the queen soybean that will be planted even on the landing strips, which by the way, in Santa Fe there are plenty ... .. ( 12)

The biofuel plantations give benefits every six months, and the pastures in which to raise the cows give it to several years, with which they began to use these pastures to create biofuels. The conclusion is an increase in the price of beef, doubling or tripling its value in Argentina. In Mexico, the purchase of corn to produce biofuels for the US has meant that in the first half of 2007, the corn tortilla, a staple food in Mexico, doubled or even tripled in price. In Italy, the price of pasta has increased substantially, leading to a day of protest in September 2007, a boycott of the purchase of this typical Italian food product. In September 2007, Spain also registered a rise in the price of bread caused by an increase in the price of flour at source. (13)


"There is a serious risk of creating a battle between food and fuel that will leave the poor and the hungry in developing countries at the mercy of rapidly rising prices for food, land and water," says the report on the right to food of the UN, which will be presented to the General Assembly on October 24.

There are 854 million hungry people in the world, a figure that "has been increasing since 1996." And it highlights that more than six million children die each year of hunger or diseases related to poor nutrition before reaching their fifth birthday. (14)

In the end, we run the risk of the rich driving their vehicles around by burning the food of the poor. "Today the industrial agriculture that is carried out to produce biofuel needs a lot of oil to move the machinery and a lot of fertilizers that produce CO2 emissions. Therefore, oil is being used to produce something that we are told to replace oil." (fifteen)

Ethanol is thought to be a clean and environmentally friendly fuel, but vehicles that use it could cause worse effects on human health than those of conventional gasoline. "Ozone is a substance with a very high oxidizing power, for that reason it reacts with the nasal mucosa and respiratory tract and causes inflammation and reinforced with the presence of toxic particles in the air the problem is substantially aggravated" ... "but also, When alcohol is burned with gasoline, aldehydes can be produced and in these there are acetaldehydes, which are compounds recognized as carcinogens. "That is the warning from a team of scientists at Stanford University, California, published in the journal Science and Technology Environmental. (16)

Business always business:

"Bad governments are the greatest source of poverty and misery in the world today," says George Soros, author of "Globalization," which is precisely what he takes advantage of to carry out his investments and round-the-clock business, and earn the fame of being "the man that bankrupt the Bank of England. " (17) In Venado Tuerto, for example, where it totals nearly 20,000 hectares, his company plans to disburse up to US $ 400 million in a project that includes not only the production of ethanol, but also that of corn and milk in an integrated manner, reaching to the 200,000 hectares distributed in four other provinces. (18) Last year, he had tried to stay with the Argentine dairy cooperative SanCor, but Chávez won the game. (19)

The world ethanol market is fifteen times larger than that of biodiesel, using crops such as corn, barley and beets, it is possible to obtain between 10-15 times more liters of fuel per hectare than with soybeans. (20) But The downside is that being corrosive, it absorbs water and impurities, and cannot be dispatched through the country's fuel pipeline network, therefore it must be transported by train, truck or barge, which is a more expensive transportation network that It is difficult to cope with the increase in production, the price of ethanol falls and corn rises. (21)

"The price of cereals and the lack of regulation force to temporarily close the bioethanol plant in Salamanca, Biocarburantes de Castilla y León", (22) but on the other hand one of its associates: Abengoa Bioenergía, has closed the acquisition of one hundred percent of the capital of the Dedini Agro group of companies, a Brazilian bioethanol factory, (23) environmental damage will not do so in Spain, but in Brazil, where extreme poverty and impunity come together to perpetuate slavery, officially abolished in 1888. (24)

When the predation of the forests is over they will come for the water

Researchers from the Swedish International Institute for Water (SIWI) estimate that by 2050 the additional amount of water that will be required for biofuel will be the same as to properly feed the entire world population. (24) Agribusiness consumes 70% of fresh water globally, and its expansion will cause even more tensions. Multinationals in most impoverished states have priority over the use of water resources, as is the case for Coca Cola in India, which is leaving entire populations without water due to massive consumption for the production of their beverages. . (25)

In Europe, of the 55 main rivers on the continent only 5 are not polluted. In the US 40% of rivers and lakes are polluted. Half of the American population depends on groundwater. All this explains why it has turned to the rest of the countries of the continent.

The great availability of drinking water in Mexico is one of the great attractions of the region.

In South America, fresh water abounds everywhere. We must add aquifers to rivers, lakes, estuaries, marshes and lagoons, and among them, the Guaraní Aquifer. It is a large reserve of fresh water, like an underground sea that we share between four countries: Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.

It is believed to be the second largest reserve in the world for its size, although some place it in the first place since they believe that the other, in Asia, would be contaminated. A US multinational company bought 132,000 hectares in a water recharge zone for the aquifer and there are no controls. That is why they want the signing of the FTAA and the excuse is the Triple Border, to increase their military presence, but the objective is another. (26)

"There is no environmental policy"

The constitutionalist Daniel Sabsay, head of the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN), denounced: "The environmental issue is in the hands of a weak body that practically does not exist, it has no police power or true influence capacity", alluding to the Ministry of the Environment. (27) Today four criminal complaints weigh on the official in that area, for allegedly hiring "friends and relatives indiscriminately", the possible "derivation of public funds to pay personal expenses", and the apparent "mismanagement of the generous funds" of Environment, whose budget was five-fold this year. (28)

There being so many suitable people and top-level researchers, for example in Conicet, with meager salaries and extensive resumes, while the jerks occupy positions in a Secretariat with salaries exceeding $ 8000, for doing “nothing” or being friends “of”.

Maria Julia II is said to be the founder of the Center for Human Rights and the Environment, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the protection of victims affected by environmental degradation. (29) Curiously, this center is in Córdoba, where 500 residents from an entire neighborhood, Ituzaingó Annex, are convicted of spraying the herbicide glyphosate. (4) The foundation did nothing for those people, I only found on their website a report from the neighborhood for water contamination in 2002 by PCB transformers, but nothing from fumigations. (30) Won't they need a referral of funds?

We are bad, but we are bad…. The State governs outside; the province for Monsanto; the Environmental area is in charge of Molinos, Vicentin and Ecofuel; Health in front of Cargil and Bunge; while Eurnekian, Adecoagro and Dreyfus carry out Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing and Food. Everything is possible in the world upside down.

Governor Obeid said: “That sinister parable of the '30s or' 40s when we sold meat and they returned it to us by selling us corned beef should not be repeated; We don't want to sell only soybeans and oil, but we want to sell processed products, in this case what the world needs so much, which are biofuels. (6) He failed to add: We want to sell the health, well-being and food of Santa Fe for their cars. It is not BIO it is NECRO, governor! That is the true sinister parable that will be repeated but multiplied ten times.

The final count already began with the soy boom, but they did not realize: "Cars yes, Food no."

* Lawyer (UBA), Notary Public (UNR).
Romang, Province of Santa Fe, Argentina


1- Biofuels in the grain, meat and milk markets.

2-Clarín Rural, special edition 09/15/07

3-Clarín Rural, 10/06/07: "To the ring with your guard up high" and "Opinion"

4-Diario El Santafecino // Diario Issue 4 // Integración Magazine, Vera, "Doctor, shout it louder!"

5-Diary Edition 4 // Interlex // Rebellion // FM Activa Vera // Ideal Habitat // La Fogata,

"Pachamama (mother earth) continue to contaminate you"

6- Obeid signed a technological support agreement with UNL and Conicet

7-FM Activa Vera: The situation of livestock is serious

8-FM Activa Vera: This government facilitated unprecedented deforestation

9-Diario Der .: Jorge Obeid said that Hermes Binner receives an orderly province.//

Rufinoweb: Hermes Binner was in Rufino

10-: Biofuels Bio or business?

11- Sanity, Cordeu!

12- La Capital newspaper: The north of Santa Fe, a landing zone for smuggling

13- Wikipedia, Biofuels

14- El Universal Mex: UN alert that biofuels can increase the number of hungry people

15- Biodiversityla: Greenpeace warns that biofuels encourage the destruction of forests

16-BBC Mundo: Health risks of ethanol

17-Rebellion: After the State comes Soros

18- Soros invests in a market convulsed by the energy crisis

19- After failing in the bid for Sancor, George Soros returns for fuels

20-Clarín, companies & businesses supplement, 09/16/07

21-New York Times, Clarín weekly selection: The ethanol boom already seems to have exceeded demand. 06/10/07

22- Temporarily closes the bioethanol plant in Salamanca

23- ABG.MC News: Abengoa Bioenergía closes purchase of Dedini Agro in Brazil

24- BBC Mundo: Brazil fights against slavery

25- Biofuel in doubt

26- www.emancipació Biofuels the gasoline of destruction

27- BBC Mundo: Water must be an essential human right // Rel uita: The Guaraní aquifer

28- Diario Siglo XXI Spain: Insufficient environmental policy of Kirchner

29- APF Digital: A criminal investigation begins against Romina Picolotti for embezzlement

30- Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development


Video: THE DICTATOR - Official Clip - Helicopter Ride (July 2021).