Hard Realities: Brazil Drops Resistance to Genetically Altered Crops

Brazil, the world's second largest producer of soybeans and one of the world's most important agricultural exporters, has traditionally outlawed genetically modified (GM) crops. Now, populist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has shifted policy, choosing to allow modified soybean seeds. Some poor Brazilian farmers have already been using GM seeds obtained from neighboring Argentina to boost their meager output. Anti-globalization activists charge that since corporations like Monsanto own the patents on the modified seeds, a legalization of the seeds will only help big business interests collect more royalties. Though Brazil's poorest farmers advocated for the legalization of GM crops alongside Monsanto, environmental and anti-globalization activists, who gather annually in Brazil for the World Social Forum, are quick to call Lula a 'sellout'. – YaleGlobal