17/03/2005 - The two-day
conference, which began today, is being held
in the southern Brazilian city of Iguaçu
Falls. It attracted over 250 participants,
representing major soy producers, farming
communities, retailers, social and environmental
organizations, and industry and commerce.
Paraguay's Minister of the Environment, Silvio
Alfredo Molinas Maldonado, attended the opening
while Brazil´s Minister of Agriculture,
Roberto Rodrigues, sent a message via video.
In her opening speech, the president of the
Roundtable on Sustainable Soy (RSS), Yolanda
Kakabadse, reiterated the conference´s
concerns. “Given the complexity of the issue,
it is necessary to listen to the actors involved.
We need to cooperate, as each one of us is
part of the solution.”
The representative of Switzerland´s
State Secretary of Economy, and one of the
conference´s sponsors, Thomas Hentschel,
said that soy production must take into account
environmental, cultural, political, social
and economic factors.
Concerns over the expansion of soy production
and its impact on people and nature have been
expressed by a range of groups, including
the Workers Federation in Family Agriculture
of the Southern Region of Brazil (Fetraf-Sul/CUT);
the Brazilian Forum of NGOs and Social Movements
(FBOMS); Guyra, a conservation organization
in Paraguay; and Fundacion Vida Silvestre
from Argentina. Business and industry represented
in the discussions include French supermarket
chain, Carrefour; the Brazilian Association
of Vegetable Oil Industry; and the Paraguayan
Exporter Chamber of Cereal and Oilseeds (CAPECO),
among others. Consumer interests were represented
by the Brazilian Institute for the Defense
of the Consumer (IDEC).
It is hoped that this first conference will
result in a commitment in the search for solutions
to reducing the negative impact of the demand
for soy, and promoting economic development
that is socially and environmentally responsible.
The conference organizers, the RSS, also hope
to define next steps for continuation of the
dialogue and creation of a formal structure
of the RSS.
The RSS comprises COOP, a leading Swiss retailer
in sustainable products; Fetraf-Sul/CUT, which
consists of more than 150 rural workers´
unions in southern Brazil; the André
Maggi Group, a major Brazilian soy producer;
CORDAID, an international development organization
with headquarters in the Netherlands; Unilever,
an Anglo-Dutch manufacturer with operations
in over 100 countries and markets in over
150 countries; and WWF, the global conservation
organization.
