IMPACT OF SOYA ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Soya for Animal Feeds

In Brazil trees are chopped down to grow soya. However, most of the soya grown in Brazil and elsewhere is for animal feeds. So it is meat, eggs and dairy-eaters who are destroying the rainforests. 

Indeed humans use much less land and water if they eat crops directly rather than through the intermediary of an animal. This is because farmed animals consume much more protein than they produce: most of the protein from their vegetable feeds is used for the animals’ bodily functions and not converted to meat, eggs or milk. More water and land is therefore needed to grow crops for farmed animals to eat, leading to deforestation, water scarcity, soil erosion and increased pesticide use. The average vegan’s ecological footprint is much smaller than the average meat-eater’s!  

Soya for Human Consumption

Most of the soya products we buy in European shops such as soya milk, tofu and TVP use soya that is grown in areas that have not been ‘cleared.’  Alpro products for example actually state on the packet that none of the farms they buy from are on cleared land, and all their farmers respect natural crop rotation. To guarantee this Alpro operates an impressive traceability program that goes far beyond the required standards; tracing the beans from the farmer right up to the end product. Plamil are similarly careful to avoid deforestation.