The low-down on soybeans

Friday I was confronted with two disturbing facts about soybeans. The first I came across while reading an Op-Ed piece from the Times entitled "The Carnivore's Dilemma". This article, which calls into question the overly-simplistic argument that meat-eating is closely linked to global warming contained a startling fact about soy: 70 percent of newly deforested areas in Mato Grosso State in Brazil is used to grow soy. Wow! A lot of this goes to industrial livestock feed, but the article also states that the Organic Consumers Association notes that "Brazilian soy is common (and unlabeled) in tofu and soymilk sold in American supermarkets". Grrr! Why are our labeling laws so outrageously lax in this country?! Don't we have a RIGHT to know what our food is and where it comes from?

Later that night I watched the documentary Food, Inc., which has a great (albeit terrifying and heartwrenching segment) on Monsanto's genetically modified soybeans and super shady business practices. The film stated that 90% of soybeans grown in the US are Monsanto's GMO Roundup Ready beans, which are genetically modified to withstand serious spraying with the broad-spectrum pesticide RoundUp (also manufactured by Monsanto).

These 2 bits of information left me worrying about whether the soymilk I pour onto my cereal and into my tea every morning is as sustainable as I assumed it to be, so I did a little investigating to try and find out where Silk gets their soybeans. I was thrilled to find a document on their website entitled Soybean Sourcing and Production Program, which outlines their environmental, social and business policies. Turns out that Silk is (as far as I can tell) a pretty responsible company dedicated to environmental and social sustainability. Silk only procures non GMO soybeans, and their organic beans are USDA certified organic. They support a slew of good things, including family farms, environmental health, living wages and renewable energy. They offset all of the electricity used in production by purchasing renewable energy credits. All Silk soybeans are sourced from North America. Check out the report for more information.