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Boycott of Soy Products

Justmeans Staff | Saturday 31st October 2009

Major UK based food companies along with Greenpeace have been inviting support from consumers to boycott soy products in the wake of protecting Amazon rainforests. They have joined forces to shun multinational traders that buy soy from the deforested land of Amazon rainforests.

In the last few years, too much destruction has been caused to the Amazon forests due to production of soy. In an attempt to support the cause, leading food retailers including McDonald's along with Greenpeace had also formed an alliance in order to demand immediate action from soy traders. Amazon destruction is basically being caused due to the rise in demand for soy based animal feed which is used in production of meat. Due to the rise in pressure from this unique alliance, even the US commodities giants including French-owned Dreyfus, Cargill, Bunge, and Brazilian-owned Amaggi have to come together for negotiation. Earlier this year Brazilian soy crushers announced extension of the ban on purchasing soybeans grown in the Amazon basin for one more year. This extension was the result of the pressure being imposed on them by the buyers and activist groups for the preservation of one of the world's largest rain forests.

Back in 2006, pressure from activist groups and consumers had led the Brazilian soy crushers to stop the purchase of soybeans that come from the Amazon basin. This moratorium was supposed to last for two years and applied to the plantation of soybeans in 2006 in the newly deforested areas. This initiative then was headed by the National Grains Exporters' Association and the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Producers in an attempt to reconcile economic development with environmental conservation.

Large quantities of soy being grown in Argentina are not being used for human consumption. Instead, approximately 80% of the total production is used for animal feedlots, providing protein for poultry, hogs and cattle. After the Amazons, Argentina holds 61% of the largest rainforests in America and the production of soy in this country is also close to Brazil. The present need for consumers is to become more aware of what they eat and where it comes from.

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