The Demise of the Soybean by Britt Bailey
Some 3-4000 years ago, farmers in China began planting black and brown seeds of a wild recumbent vine—a forebear of the modern-day soybean. Why these farmers chose to grow a plant that spread out along the ground, making it difficult to cultivate and harvest, is unclear and undocumented. Without proper preparation, the seeds—or beans--produced would have been hard and indigestible. By 1100 B.C., the plant had been trained, through genetic selection, to stand upright and bear larger, more abundant protein-rich seeds. They enriched the soil with nitrogen and could be grown in soils too depleted to support other crops.
Over the next thousand years, the soybean became a staple food crop revered by the Chinese. With its high protein content, soy tofu became an integral part of the strict vegetarian fare of Buddhist monks. Different varieties carried names like 'Great Treasure', 'Brings Happiness', 'Yellow Jewel' and 'Heaven's Bird.' The soybean has been used for centuries to produce soy nuts, soy milk, soy sauce, miso (fermented soy paste), tempeh (fermented soy cake), flour, doufu (tofu in Japan) and soybean oil.
The soybean was introduced into the Western world in 1765 by Samuel Bowen, a merchant who brought the seeds from China. The bean was analyzed for its nutritional quality over the next several decades, and used for animal feed. In the 1800s it was incorporated into the human diet and its production expanded as its versatility as a food was recognized.
Genetic engineering in the United States will have a huge impact on soy products worldwide. The United States, Brazil, China and Argentina produce 90% of the world's soybeans. The U.S. produces 47% of this supply and exports 1/3 of its production. Soybeans provide a major source of vegetable oil and high-protein feed supplements for livestock. Soy oil accounts for 80% of the vegetable oil consumed in the United States, and is used in many well-known products such as margarine, mayonnaise, shortening and salad dressing. As much as 95% of soy meal, including the hulls, continues to be used for animal feed.
Over the past few years, chemical producers like Monsanto Company have been marketing genetic technologies to produce food crops resistant to their chemical herbicides. These plants are referred to as genetically modified, genetically engineered, bioengineered and transgenic crops. These terms simply indicate that a gene from an otherwise sexually incompatible organism has been implanted into the genome of a chosen seed.
Of the sixty million acres of soybeans grown in the U.S. this year, ten million acres, or 15% of the total, were genetically altered to resist the herbicide Roundup®. The seeds marketed as Roundup Ready™ are sold through seed distributors such as Pioneer, Hi-Bred, DeKalb, Stoneville, Pedigreed, Hartz, and Asgrow Seed Company. Monsanto has recently purchased all or parts of these companies, and is projecting that 50% of the U.S. crop—thirty million acres—will be Roundup Ready™ by 1998, and 100% by 2000.
Developed in 1973, Roundup® has become Monsanto's major money making product, generating 50% of its sales. With its patent expiring in the year 2000, Monsanto has worked hard to create a gene technology to keep growers dependent on the herbicide. By 1992, Monsanto learned to make plants resistant to Roundup®. Farmers buying Roundup Ready™ seed must contract to use Roundup® exclusively as a condition of purchase.
Toxic Concerns
Roundup® is 41% composed of the herbicide glyphosate. The remaining "inert ingredients" are not inactive. They function as detergents or surfactants to de-clog applicators and evenly spread the herbicide. One notable inert ingredient, polyethyloxylated tallow amine surfactant (POEA), is three times as toxic as the active ingredient and has been cited as the cause of toxicity in nine Japanese who died after ingesting Roundup®.
The ultimate effect of spraying mass amounts of glyphosate over millions of acres worldwide is yet unknown. Glyphosate induces symptoms indicative of liver toxicity and treatment with Roundup® has been shown to increase chromosome aberrations in plants even though, glyphosate itself is only moderately toxic to mammals and birds. In fact, glyphosate is water-soluble, and breaks down without significant environmental bioaccumulation. Being water soluble, Roundup® is not concentrated in the oily portion of the soybean but it does accrue in the hulls.
Genetically engineered soybeans are currently being sold on the open market, unlabeled and mixed with conventional soybeans. In the U.S., we mainly consume soybeans in the form of oil. This is not true in other countries, or for vegetarians. For example, in Japan, they are cooked whole, fermented into miso, or used to produce tofu and tempeh. These foods may actually contain high levels of glyphosate.
While most processed foods contain soy oil, the hulls of the soybean are found in fiber bran breads, cereals and snacks. Soymilk is used as an alternative in infant nutrition for nearly 7% of all infants, and soy lecithin is used as a standard emulsifier and stabilizing agent. Because most soybeans are sold on the open market as a commodity, engineered beans are finding their way into well-known Crisco® products, Kraft® salad dressings, Nestle® chocolate, Green Giant Harvest Burgers®, Parkay® margarine, Wesson® vegetable oils, McDonald's french fries and Frito-Lay®, Doritos® and Tostitos® chips. Ross Labs, the makers of Enfamil®, Similac® and Prosobee® infant formulas have also verified that they are "not discriminating" against transgenic soybeans.
Potential Consequences
The once revered soybean is the focus of a revolution in agriculture. As traditional breeding methods give way to programs developed and dominated by the biotechnology and chemical industries, crops are being genetically tied to specific agricultural chemicals. In this way the industry is committing future generations of farmers to a new form of dependency. Instead of making products more nutritious by moving farmers away from herbicide usage, it is gearing bioengineered crops toward increased herbicide tolerance.
The promise of greater quantities of food for a burgeoning world population is false. Data submitted thus far shows that yields from Roundup Ready™ crops are slightly lower than conventional crops. As Monsanto is assured of future chemical sales and an $8.00 per acre technology fee, it is clear that the motive is economic.
World population has not reaped the benefits from this technology, since 90% of genetically engineered crops go to feed livestock, not people. Genetically engineered crops may ultimately decrease food supplies and even harm human health. We are unwitting participants in a mass experiment with uncertain consequences. To avoid eating genetically altered foods, choose organic produce. Certifiers of organics are presently disallowing the use of genetically engineered seed.
Britt Bailey is a research associate at the Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS) in Gualala, California. This article was excerpted and edited from Against the Grain, co-authored with Dr. Marc Lappé, due to be published in 1998 by Vital Health.
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