“Behind the Bean” (pdf) - Cornucopia Institute

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Acknowledgments The Cornucopia Institute wishes to thank: Blooming Prairie Foundation The Wedge And the thousands of family farmers, and their “urban allies,” who fund our work with their generous donations. 1. 4 Behind the bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry.
Executive Summary Wi t h t h e c o n t i n u e d m a r k e t p l a c e s h i f t toward eating organic, local, and sustainably produced food, more consumers are interested in knowing the story behind their food. This cultural shift represents consumers’ desire to eat healthily, and to invest in environmental health, family farms, animal welfare, and, often, their own local economies. Adding to the social, health and environmental impacts of food-buying decisions, people purchasing organic soy foods, such as tofu and soymilk, want to know whether the soybeans were grown by American family farmers, whom they trust, or imported from China, Brazil, and other countries. Consumers, especially those investing their hardearned dollars in organic brands, are edgy about imports after multiple contamination problems with imported food, including the recent China melamine scandal. Many educated consumers also want to avoid genetically engineered ingredients, and many assume organic companies test for fraud or accidental contamination. Some soy consumers, many of them vegetarians or vegans for religious or philosophical reasons, feel it is important to support family-owned businesses that share their values, as opposed to buying brands owned by multi-billion-dollar corporations that are also heavily involved in conventional animal agriculture. To shed some light on these questions and more, the Cornucopia Institute developed this research paper and the accompanying Organic Soy Scorecard. The scorecard rates organic soy food brands based on ten criteria, including soybean sourcing and production practices. The scorecard serves as an objective resource for consumers and wholesale buyers, and showcases the heroes in the organic soy foods business. Part I of the report examines some of the criteria of the scorecard in greater depth and showcases some of the companies that scored highly, as well as some of the companies that did not. The report highlights the brands in the 5-Bean category that appear highly committed to organic integrity and source exclusively domestic organic soybeans, most often directly from family farmers (rather than five stars, the companion scorecard ranks brands on a 1-to-5 Bean rating). If we wish to see more North American farmers switching to organic agriculture, as opposed to relying heavily on genetically engineered crops, petroleum-based fertilizers, and toxic pesticides, consumers must support the companies that buy from North American organic farmers—and the Organic Soy Scorecard shows which companies do so. At the bottom of the scorecard (in the 0-Bean and 1-Bean categories) are the companies that were unwilling to share their sourcing and production information with The Cornucopia Institute and, more importantly, their customers. Our research indicates that many of these com- Photo source: istock.com If we wish to see more North American farmers switching to organic agriculture ... consumers must support the companies that buy from North American organic farmers—and the Organic Soy Scorecard shows which companies do so. the Cornucopia Institute 5
Page 1 and 2: Behind the Bean The Heroes and Char
Page 3: Contents Acknowledgments .. . . . .
Page 7 and 8: Introduction In t o d a y ’s glob
Page 9 and 10: Part I: The Organic Soy Scorecard C
Page 11 and 12: terials and practices that enhance
Page 13 and 14: vironment and family farmers. The c
Page 15 and 16: The claims by biotechnology corpora
Page 17 and 18: ages, others like Small Planet Tofu
Page 19 and 20: USDA organic standards. It was an i
Page 21 and 22: Brazil is a major producer of conve
Page 23 and 24: Company Ratings in the Organic Soy
Page 25 and 26: Teeter soymilk participated, we wer
Page 27 and 28: where their Chinese organic soybean
Page 29 and 30: sumers. Recently, WhiteWave claims
Page 31 and 32: Part II: Unmasking the “Natural
Page 33 and 34: Soy Isoflavones as Estrogen Mimicks
Page 35 and 36: tive effects or birth defects, or a
Page 37 and 38: protein content and increased cost.
Page 39 and 40: Clif Bar & Company writes on its we
Page 41 and 42: Nutritional DHA and ARA Oils On or
Page 43 and 44: Mead Johnson currently charges more
Page 45 and 46: Appendix A: Scorecard Ratings Soy S
Page 47 and 48: Manufacturing 100 All manufacturing
Page 49 and 50: Appendix C: List of Companies Brand
Page 51 and 52: Brand Name Corporate Affiliation Ad
Page 53 and 54: Soybeans and cotton genetically eng
Page 55 and 56:
64 Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, T
Page 57 and 58:
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“Behind the Bean” (pdf) - Cornucopia Institute

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