Is Soybean Cultivation a Leading Cause of Deforestation?
For many, cow milk has become a thing of the past. Plant-based almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, and soy milk are taking over the market, and are now offered at every local café. As dairy production leaves a tremendous carbon footprint and uses large amounts of land and resources, this new phenomenon is beneficial to the environment. However, the recent explosion of soy production- production that’s doubled in the past 20 years- has propelled an increase in deforestation.
So, if soy milk and tofu are more sustainable than cow milk, cheese, and chicken, why is the recent popularity of soy causing more deforestation? Something about that conjecture just doesn’t add up. This is because the issue of soybeans lies in their consumption, not their production. In actuality, the environmentally-friendly alternatives of soy milk, tofu, and similar products make up only 6.9% of soy consumption. As shown on the graph below, the remaining percentage is dedicated to fuel and feed, with three-quarters being fed to animals.
The World’s Soy: is it used for Food, Fuel, or Animal Feed? Source: OurWorldinData.org
Therefore, there is an indirect connection between soybean production, deforestation, and carbon emissions, one which models the problem of modern agriculture perfectly. Nowadays, our food doesn’t come from the harvesting of plants and animals fed through photosynthesis and natural processes; it’s dependent on the increasing use of fossil fuels and rapid cultivation of land. In the words of Vaclav Smil, author of Grand Transitions, "Energy cost of modern meat production is always dominated by the cost of animal feed. To produce a single breast of 170 grams, a broiler chicken had to consume about 600 grams of feed, or roughly 8.7 MJ, and in volume terms that would be equivalent almost exactly to a cup of diesel fuel.”
To answer the question posed as the title of this post, soybean cultivation, as well as the processing required to create soy cake feed, is one of the main drivers of deforestation and does increase emissions. But the solution to this problem isn’t boycotting soy milk and tofu. It’s to become more conscious of why soybean use is growing exponentially; meat production and consumption. According to Poultry World, chicken sales have been up 20% in the past year, largely due to people cooking at home during the pandemic. Chicken is a healthier option as opposed to beef or pork, but we still need to understand that all animals require great amounts of feed, and that poultry is still responsible for 37% of soybean use.
Decreasing our consumption of meat and dairy in favor of more sustainable alternatives will minimize the damage that the soybean industry is causing to the environment. Although opting for that soy milk at the café or tofu stir-fry instead of chicken may sound counterproductive to reducing soybean cultivation, anything that hinders the use of soy as animal feed will reduce deforestation and carbon emissions. Finally, supporting organizations working to regulate the soybean industry itself, such as WWF and the Union of Concerned Scientists, will spread awareness and aid them in their efforts as well.
