Soy monocultures and pesticides in Brazil: geopolitics and sustainability in conflict

Abstract

This paper aims to conduct a geopolitical analysis of the issue of pesticides, particularly focusing on the reality of soybean monocultures in Brazil, to subsequently confront this agricultural production model with the concept of multidimensional sustainability. Based on this, the research question guiding the study is: do soybean monocultures and the indiscriminate use of pesticides in this mode of (re)production constitute a threat to sustainability in its multidimensional perspective? Without the pretense of fully exhausting the inherently complex topic, and using a deductive approach, monographic procedure, and bibliographic and documentary techniques, the paper presents a brief overview of soybean monoculture agriculture in Brazil and the environmental and social damage caused by this production model. Subsequently, the focus shifts to analyzing the issue of pesticides in Brazil, their impacts on human, non-human, and environmental health, and then identifying geopolitical characteristics within this context. Finally, it is concluded that soybean monocultures, associated with the indiscriminate use of pesticides, are incompatible with the ideal of multidimensional sustainability, highlighting the urgent need to overcome reductionist paradigms that prioritize profit over life and socio-environmental justice.