Interesting article for those who eat soy

hiitdogs

hiitdogs

Cathlete
The Cornucopia Institute’s Organic Soy Report and accompanying Scorecard rates companies that market organic soy foods, such as soymilk, tofu and “veggie burgers,” based on ten criteria that are important to organic consumers—showcasing companies that are truly committed to the spirit and letter of the organic law while exposing those that do not rate highly or were unwilling to share their sourcing and production practices in our survey.

The scorecard sheds light on questions such as:

- Do the soybeans come from American organic farmers, or are they imported from China, India or South America?
- Is the company devoted to supporting organic agriculture by sourcing only organic soybeans and marketing only organic products?
- Does the company use loopholes in the organic standards to source cheaper non-organic ingredients even when organic ones are available?

Part I of the comprehensive report explores the reasons for asking these questions, including why organic consumers should be wary of Chinese imports, given the lax oversight by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) over organic certifiers working in China.

Part II of the report exposes the “dirty little secret” of the “natural” soy foods industry: the widespread use of hexane in processing. Hexane is strictly prohibited in organic food processing, but is used to make “natural” soy foods and even some that are “made with organic ingredients,” such as Clif Bars®. Hexane is a neurotoxic petrochemical solvent that is listed as a hazardous air pollutant with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Both the report and scorecard highlight the good news in the organic soyfood industry: in every market and product category, there are true heroes, both national and local manufacturers, supplying ethically-produced organic food that are worthy of consumer support.

http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/ (Rates different companies)
http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/OrganicSoyReport/behindthebean_execsumm.pdf (Executive summary)
http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/OrganicSoyReport/behindthebean_color_final.pdf (Full Report - 54 pages :eek:)
 
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Hey Carola -

This just drives me nuts. I was told by my naturopath to try to only eat organic soy as much as possible since it is one of the most "treated" plants on the planet today. And now I have to watch for truthful organic. . . sheesh!!

Thanks for the article!
 
I know, I was really stunned too, Lori!!!

Lisa, it's pathetic, isn't it? My naturopath told me to stay away from any processed soy like tofu and soymilk but said it's okay to eat fermented soy (tempeh, miso, nama shoyu) in small quantities. I don't think anyone really has an answer about if soy effects breast cancer negatively or positively but what they can put in food and still label it organic just makes me cringe. Time to grow my own veggie garden :eek::mad:
 
Thanks for posting this! I try to eat as little soy as possible (little tempeh here, little tofu there) but I still like to know what I am dealing with. :) There are so many dirty little secrets in the organic industry. Luckily, there are some great companies out there like Eden Organic.

Sparrow
 
Great. I really, really love my Silk soy milk. And it's got a big fat ZERO. Sigh.
 
Great, Silk, Boca Burgers, Garden Burgers, ugh. I have to check my tofu brand because now I can't remember it, either. Probably not good. The food industry sucks.
 
I am sorry! I didn't mean to be a spoiler. I thought it was good news that some companies do a great job. I am kind of peeved too, I buy Pacific Almond Milk and they are one of the companies who refused to give information about their soy stuff which makes me wonder about their other products :confused:

Hey Lori, I got a genuine 1-star rating before you did! :p
 
Great info - soy got too much press for a long time and is now implicated (in high amts taken regularly,don't know the exact numbers) in thyroid dysfunction and estrogen imbalance-cancer implication being there - but again don't know the exact amts..........I do know with the babies in NICU,breast milk was of course the first choice no matter what.....then cow formula because in nature, a cow's milk is the most similar to ours....then way down the list after variations of formula from cows came soy - because even 10 years ago there was some concern about the effects hormonally.
Now that the toxic aspect has been identified....jeesh!
 
I've been hearing so much about this lately, but couldn't find it on the internet. Good job. Thanks for taking the time to let us know about this. Darn! I just bought Silk soy milk (0 rating) yet again. I suppose I'll drink it and then start on something that is more safe. Perhaps I can buy organic soy beans from a reputable place in our states and make my own soy milk. I have directions on how to make it. Seems easy enough. That's where I'm heading now, on the internet to get these beans. Do you think Coop places will have them? (of course I'll see what co. is on the label).

Janie
 
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icumom said:
Great info - soy got too much press for a long time and is now implicated (in high amts taken regularly,don't know the exact numbers) in thyroid dysfunction and estrogen imbalance-cancer implication being there - but again don't know the exact amts..........I do know with the babies in NICU,breast milk was of course the first choice no matter what.....then cow formula because in nature, a cow's milk is the most similar to ours....then way down the list after variations of formula from cows came soy - because even 10 years ago there was some concern about the effects hormonally.
Now that the toxic aspect has been identified....jeesh!
Click to expand...

I have thyroid nodules which appear to just be annoying bumps, no cancer that they have found, and my thyroid levels are normal, but obviously, I was curious about what I could do, eat, etc, in order to shrink them, prevent more from coming, or to simply keep my thyroid regulated. My doctor - one of the best known Endocrinologists in the country and one who has been around for years told me, "Oh, they have never done a study on the effect of diet on the endocrine system." :confused: Seriously - we have studies on every freaking drug out there - why not whether or not diet plays a key (and I'm willing to bet it does, big time!)
 
Thanks for sharing this info, Carola.
I was surprised at some of the companies with the lower ratings (but not at Gardenburger or Boca burger). I haven't had soy for quite a while, and I don't intend to eat that much of it in the future, but I like to know what's what with the stuff I do eat. Kind of sad to think that just choosing 'organic' isn't enough.

This page (linked to on the scorecard) is also interesting, as it gives the rating criteria : http://cornucopia.org/soysurvey/OrganicSoyReport/behindthebean_appendixA.pdf
 
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