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The question was simple, and it seemed to us simply to answer: “Where does food for your salmon come from?”, we wanted to know from Norwegian company Skretting. Skretting is one of largest salmon producers in world, a subsidiary of a major Dutch company, and our current time dossier revolves around soya feeding in fish farming.
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Part of answer was clear to us: Brazil. The Skretting salmon have been accustomed to eating, in contrast to ir nature, a feed that is partly made of soy, and this soy comes mainly from Brazil. But additional details were amazingly hard to figure out. Skretting has readily named us three suppliers in Brazil: Caramuru, CJ Selecta and Imcopa. But after two months of insistent, y didn’t even want to call us ten soya farms where y buy ir raw materials. The companies in Brazil justify ir secrecy: such information is secret.
But although y do not want to mention details about ir suppliers, Skretting suppliers still assure that y have “good farming practices” and that y have a “sustainable environment”. They also actively committed mselves to preservation of nature reserves and biodiversity in general. The main evidence of se claims is a so-called eco-label: The Proterra Foundation Organisation certifies to soya buyers ecological and social safety of material purchased. Without a seal from Proterra Foundation, European customers such as Skretting could not sell anything, in Brazilian agribusiness.
And on field next door?
The Proterra Foundation was founded in 2006 by trade chain Coop and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) of Switzerland. A group of officials, mainly in European countries and Brazil, is conducting business re today. Proterra indicates that one has to follow “goal” that for products with ir seal entire manufacturing process is comprehensible from beginning – from sowing to silo. In its extensive list of rules re is a lot about recording duties, up to transcript of various plant protection products used and car registration plates of operating vehicles. However, in field of local research, we could not confirm that this is also happening: what is on paper does not necessarily coincide with what is happening in fields.
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For example, at Nivandro José Catapan (42), which we encountered in our research in state of Mato Grosso. Nivandro is a soy farmer. 1994 he had moved with his far to Sorriso to realize for himself a Brazilian dream: y sought great fortune in booming agriculture of north. They invested in about 100 hectares of Sojaäcker, which are 90 kilometers outside of Sorriso.
Nivandro has been building soy for some time, which does not have genetically modified seeds (GMO), so it is genetically free. He supplies his harvest to one of trading companies, which were named to us by Norwegian company Skretting as a supplier. What is exported to Norway must be conventional soya, i.e. GMO-free, and it must also bear an eco-label. Nivandro says se requirements greatly increased his effort. But he’s taking everything, “because sales price is much higher”.
The problem is that Nivandro is surrounded by lands of or soya farmers. They are very likely to produce genetically modified seeds in ir fields, and y spray appropriate toxins that can destroy conventional plants. Nivandro presents around his fields signs on which stands: GMO-free material! He personally goes to his neighbors and asks for consideration. “I asked her to be careful, because if your plant poison drifts to my fields, everything will be broken, n we will lose everything before harvest.” For four months, he last moved to his fields, from morning to night.
