Soy economy
Soybeans were first planted in the Pampas in the late 1960s. When was were genetically modified seeds adopted? (hint: answer is year soybeans were first planted + ((1.5*2)^2)
Answer: 1969!
Since 1969, soybean has expanded from 30 hectares to 20.6 million by the summer of 2015.
According to a quick search, soybean production increases by 10-17 million hectares every year.
_______ of the top 81 executive positions among the 17 corporations operating across the Argentine soybean chain are occupied by women.
seven
Director and president of Los Grobo (one of the largest agribusinesses in Argentina and South America)
Who is Andrea Grobocopatel?
Framework of understanding how individuals' multifaceted identities and standing in society result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege.
What is intersectionality?
GMO seeds are herbicide-tolerant (farmers can directly seed without tilling to control weeds), what type of herbicide do farmers spray to kill weeds?
Hint: the base was the same thing poisoning the water in Montes de Maria, Columbia
glyphosate-based herbicide
Discussion Q:
How has the mechanization of agriculture/ industrialization changed to role of women in agrarian production?
Before mech, women did farm work when needed. After, they were no longer needed and "completely disappeared from commercial agrarian production". Historically men were responsible for commercial farming; therefore, men took over the farms, while women migrated to cities to marry, study, or work.
Where the Mothers of Ituzaingo and and the AMLV are located
Ituzaingo Anexo and the town of Malvinas Argentina
- they are both working-class enclaves in the industrial belt surrounding Cordoba (the second-largest economy relying in agro-industry and manufacturing---- how might this affect the community?)
What are the effects of the soy boom?
A. reduction in poverty
B. violent displacements of peasant populations
C. Health risks b/c of agrochemical spraying
D. Both B and C
E. All of the above
all of the above
Argentina is the ________ largest global grower and exporter of soybeans
third
Discussion Q (2):
Why do women in positions in power (in agribusiness) feel the need to reproduce bio-hegemony and disregard feminine ethics to stay in power?
Because few women in CEO positions have to compete as representative of shareholders, they must replicate the identity of the men who hold the majority of the power. That means adapting the mentality of domination and control of nature through technological innovation with the goal of increasing productivity and profits. (vs. feminine ethics)
What are the effects of agrochemical spraying from farms and toxins from industrial facilities affect residents in and neighboring residents of Cordoba?
A. Increased rates of miscarriages and birth defects
B. Water pollution
C. Headaches, coughing, and skin rashes
D. Cancer, lung disease, and dermatitis
E. All of the Above
E. All of the Above
According to the 2010 census, Malvinas is the poorest city in the province; of its 12,187 inhabitants, 25.7 percent are unable to fulfill their basic needs, 2/3s are unemployed or underemployed, and 70.4 percent have no health insurance. Local doctors have identified among its residents a host of illnesses characteristic of pesticide drift: lung disease, dermatitis, tumors, cancers, congenital malformations in children, and the highest rate of miscarriages in the country (22 per 100) (Ruderman et al., 2013)
GMO seeds are herbicide-tolerant (farmers can directly seed without tilling to control weeds), what type of herbicide farmers spray to kill weeds?
glyphosate-based herbicide
The gendered hierarchy1 (/patriarchal control) that is produced and reproduced from various material practices (adoption of biotech), sources of discourse, and operation of neoliberal capitalism
1(subordination of nature and women to men; and sub. of feminine to masculine)
What is hegemonic masculinity?
Discussion Q:
- Why might women who are protesting against the Monsanto plant1 clash with the male residents in Malvinas.
(think cognitive biases)
1President Fernandez planned to build LA's 2nd largest GM factory in Malvinas- 240 silos operating 24/7, potentially spewing toxic fumes
In Malvinas Argentinas, the protests against the Monsanto plant pitted neighbors against each other. Many male residents supported construction on the basis of the promise of much-needed jobs and countered female activists by citing their role as breadwinners for their families.
Paternalism of the “father provides” type became prevalent under the Kirchner administrations through their emphasis on directing the profits of extractivism to government antipoverty interventions. Such as the 30–35 percent federal tax on soy exports funded a series of social welfare programs, such as Plan de Jefes y Jefas de Hogar (Plan for Male and Female-Headed Households), Plan Familias (Families Plan), and Asignación Universal por Hijo (Universal Child Allowance). They did nothing to promote paid employment. Instead, they served to reinforce women’s traditional gender roles as housewives and mothers.
During which presidential era were the profits of neoextractivism intended to alleviate poverty through the goal of social redistribution and high rates of export taxes (30-35%)? (hint: pres was a leftist)
A. (~1990s) President Carlos Menem
B. (2003) Nestor Kirchner
C. (2015) Mauricio Macri
D. (2023-current) Javier Milei
B. Nestor Kirchner
President Carlos Menem expanded resource extractivism in which Argentina became a primary global exporter of wheat and beef. It wasn't until the late twentieth century that soybean production boomed.
Mauricio Macri's administration focused on expanding soybean-based extractivism by turning the country into an agro-industrial powerhouse, reducing agro-export taxes.
Definition: The strategy of corporate and state elite (actors that adopt, promote, and benefit from GM biotech) to silence dissent of and propagandize soy extractivism.
Feminist scholars denounce this b/c it depends a deep cultural logic that treats nature—and by analogy, women and racialized people—as objects to be controlled and exploited. This mindset is not just set within the bounds of morality or the economy; it underlies the very ways capitalist societies define knowledge, value, and reality.
what is bio-hegemony
The two prominent women-led movements in Argentina organized to shed light on the threats of agrochemical drift and its risk to children's health.
What is Madres de Barrio Ituzaingo Anexo and Asamblea Malvinas Lucha por la Vida?