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Press Release More information about the Friends of the Earth Europe soy campaign
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Press Release More information about the Friends of the Earth Europe soy campaign
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Europe's factory farms devastating communities and environment, reveals new film New film shows massive impact of soy production Brussels, October 16 - A new film launched on World Food Day reveals a hidden chain of destruction stretching from factory farms in Europe to the forests of South America where huge soy plantations are devastating communities, destroying wildlife and worsening the effects of climate change. The ground breaking film – Killing Fields, the battle to feed factory farms – investigates the impacts of growing soy in South America to feed factory farms in Europe, and can be downloaded in 12 different languages from www.feedingfactoryfarms.org
Soy, grown mostly to feed chickens, cows and pigs in Europe, now covers nearly 11 million hectares in South America – an area equivalent to all the arable farmland in Germany. The film shows that to make way for soy plantations, thousands of people are being forced from their land and with it, losing their ability to grow their own food. Indigenous people are being evicted and forests are being cleared. Many of the soybeans are genetically modified by the multi-national Monsanto and massively increase the use of pesticides – poisoning rural communities, water sources and the natural environment. If the EU is serious about addressing climate change, the global loss of biodiversity, human rights, and the food crisis it must urgently reduce its dependence on imports of soy. A comprehensive briefing on the use of soy can be downloaded from www.foeeurope.org/soy The film has been produced by Friends of the Earth Europe, Food and Water Watch and the European Coordination Via Campesina. *** For more information, please contact: Adrian Bebb, European agrofuels campaign coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe, 0049 1609 490 1163 Francesca Gater, communications officer for Friends of the Earth Europe, +32 2893 1010, 0032 485 930515
Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment, |