Brazil's cost of ethnol
This is insight into monoculture and destruction of soil as well as forest cover due to mass scale plantations
Excerpt from "The WTO and the Destructive Effects of the Sugarcane
Industry in Brazil." February 13, 2006
Sugarcane Industry in Brazil
"The sugarcane industry is Brazil?s fastest-growing agribusiness of
2005. Its expansion has brought with it serious consequences for the
country, such as environmental destruction, removal of agricultural
workers from their land and frequent workers? rights violations.
Sugarcane plant supervisors demand that each worker cut, on average,
twelve to fifteen tons of sugarcane per day. Between January 2004 and
September 2005, the Migrants? Pastoral registered eight workers?
deaths due to an excess of work in the cane fields of the Ribeir o
Preto region alone."
..
"According to the University of S o Paulo professor, Ariovaldo
Umbelino, of the total jobs generated in the Brazilian countryside,
87.3% are in the small units of production, 10.2% are in medium-sized,
and only 2.5% are in the large units. This study also demonstrates
that the small and medium-sized rural properties are responsible for
the majority of food production. Despite these data, the government
has prioritized an agricultural policy that principally favors large
businesses. In 2004, 10 transnational corporations received close to
$4.5 billion reais from Banco do Brasil. This amount is larger than
all of the credit given to small farmers through PRONAF (National
Program for the Strengthening of Family Agriculture). In total, the
government disposed of R$37 billion reais in credit for large
landowners."
...
After Australia, Brazil has the lowest cost of production of sugar in
the world because it exploits workers. In the state of S o Paulo, the
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=22656
cost of production is $165 dollars per ton. In the European Union the
cost is $700 dollars per ton. "The sugarcane complex is one of the
most important agroindustrial complexes of Brazil; it has very
competitive products in the international market thanks to low costs
of production, which are associated with low salaries paid to
workers", explains professor Francisco Alves, from the Federal
University of S o Carlos."
Continue reading entire article...Migration, Slave Work and Violations
of Workers? Rights...
Sugarcane Industry in Brazil
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
=====================
From Bioenergy and the Rise of Sugarcane-Based Ethanol in Brazil
by Joao Martines-Filho, Heloisa L. Burnquist, and Carlos E.F. Vian
Choices Article - Bioenergy and the Rise of Sugarcane-Based Ethanol in Brazil
"One of the most harmful environmental effects from sugarcane
production is the burning of fields to facilitate manual harvesting.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=22656
Burning is conducted prior to harvesting to eliminate pests and remove
weeds. This makes movement through the field safer and easier, but
produces significant quantities of greenhouse gases, ash, and other
airborne particulates. Absolute elimination of burning has proven
difficult so a schedule was established to gradually reduce the
burning over the next 20 years in Sao Paulo, the largest production
region. In 2000, additional steps were taken to eliminate burning and
shift practices over to mechanized harvesting (Law no. 10.547, March
5, 2000). The new law specifically established where burning was
prohibited and mechanization in turn would be used; about 55% of
production. It also established rules where burning would be allowed;
45% of production. Burning is still permitted where the ground is
sloped 12% or more, making mechanized harvesting impossible; or where
small landholders were involved and had no other means of harvesting."
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