Articles

The Andean nation is a small producer of soybeans compared with its giant agricultural neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, but output and exports of the oilseed have jumped in recent years due to improved crop yields and bigger plantings. [...] Virtually all Bolivian soy uses GM seeds and the law signed by Morales earlier this month has rattled growers in the lowland east, historically a bastion of opposition to the Aymara Indian president -- a vocal advocate of organic farming methods and Pachamama, which means Mother Earth in the Andes. The legislation, which former coca farmer Morales has called a means “to live in equilibrium and harmony with Mother Earth,” also calls for limits on the expansion of farming into new areas and assigns a spiritual value to land beyond its social and economic function.