News about biofuels has been appearing on Argentina’s business pages with growing frequency these days, as investment plans for biodiesel and, to a lesser extent, ethanol, have multiplied here. Biodiesel is drawing particularly strong interest on account of Argentina’s position as one of the world’s foremost growers of oilseeds, which could be used to make the fuel. The third leading soybean producer behind the United States and Brazil, Argentina ranks first among the world’s soy-oil exporters, sending 5.5 million tons abroad annually. But as interest here in biofuels has grown, so, too, have concerns that corresponding pressure to intensify soy cultivation—the vast majority of which employs transgenic varieties here—will worsen already serious problems of soil depletion, deforestation and erosion. Though current Argentine... [Log in to read more]