“Behind the Bean” (pdf) - Cornucopia Institute

Commitment to Supporting
North American Organic Family Farmers
“If people want high-quality organic food grown by American family farmers, they need to support us not only
when times are good, but also when times are bad.”
– Phil Lewis, organic farmer in Kansas and owner of Lewis Ag Service,
which supplies organic soybeans for Small Planet Tofu.
Sa l e s o f s o y f o o d s a n d beverages increased 29% between
2003 and 2007. 23 Despite the surge in consumer
demand for organic soy-based foods in the United States,
USDA data suggests that the number of domestic acres
planted with organic soybeans is decreasing. In 2002, the
first year of USDA organic certification, 126,000 acres
of organic soybeans were grown in the United States. In
2005, the most recent year for which the USDA has data,
that number dropped to 122,000. 24
According to two USDA economists, “U.S. organic soybean production
started declining several years ago as low-cost production began
to increase in developing countries.” 25 Some family farmers growing
organic soybeans tell a similar story: when China started to offer organic
soybeans at a slightly lower price, some companies, like industry
leader Dean Foods and its Silk soymilk brand, took advantage of
the lower prices from China. In China, 40,000 hectares of farmland
were certified organic in 2002, this number increased by over 1000%
to 3,466,570 hectares in 2006. 26
Photo courtesy of TOFU Phil.
While companies like Dean Foods
told its Silk customers a couple
of years ago that it had to go
to China because of domestic
shortages, others like Small
Planet Tofu continued to work
with these farmers in Kansas,
showing their commitment to
supporting American organic
agriculture.
Based on our own research, using import data, we estimate that
close to 100 million kilograms of organic soybeans and soymeal were
imported from Asia between March 2008 and March 2009. Today,
there is indeed a shortage of domestic organic soybeans. Years ago,
when China offered cheap organic soybeans, some companies did
not hesitate to purchase Chinese soybeans instead of supporting
North American family farmers and domestic organic soybean production.
Now that companies and consumers are wary of Chinese
imports, and looking for domestic sources, they are encountering
a shortage of high-quality organic soybeans. Some brokers have
standing orders from food manufacturers for domestic beans, which
will likely remain unfilled. These food manufacturers will have no
choice but to go abroad, shut down their businesses, or switch from
organic to “non-GMO” conventional.
The important difference between companies sourcing Chinese soybeans
and those still sourcing all American-grown organic soybeans
is the company’s commitment to domestic organic agriculture.
While companies like Dean Foods told its Silk customers a couple
of years ago that it had to go to China because of domestic short-
16 Behind the bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry.