Are farmers in South America allowed to grow GMO crops?
For many years, GMO soybeans (Roundup Ready) were grown illegally in far southern Brazil. Farmers in Rio Grande do Sul brought the soybeans in from Argentina as a way to reduce their production costs. Today though, Roundup Ready soybeans can be grown legally in Brazil. Several years ago, the Brazilian Congress authorized the production and sale of GMO soybeans as well as corn. There is now a formal structure in place to evaluate and approve new GMO crop varieties. Even though many farmers want to grow GMO soybeans in order to reduce their production costs, there is a market in Brazil for traditional soybeans (non-GMO) that are exported primarily to Europe. In addition to traditional soybeans, the Europeans like to purchase non-GMO corn and grass-fed beef from Brazil as well.
