Soy is widely recognized for its significant presence in meat substitute products, as companies like Heura, THIS, and the Vegetarian Butcher utilize it. However, there have been claims that the vegan lifestyle is adversely impacting the environment.
Interestingly, only about 20% of soy is used in products for human consumption, and less than half of this amount is used in vegetarian and vegan products. The majority, almost 80%, is actually grown to feed animals. Unfortunately, this soy is frequently cultivated on land that has been cleared through deforestation, a major contributor to climate change as trees help absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Nicola Brennan, Conversion Free Supply Chains policy officer at WWF, stated, “Currently, the food system is part of the problem. The expansion of crops like soy, most of which is used for livestock feed, is driving deforestation and the conversion of precious habitats like the Cerrado in Brazil.”
Devastatingly, soy production results in significant ecological damage. Although not as detrimental as pasture for beef production, it still contributes to deforestation, as highlighted by WWF. Over the past two decades, soy production has doubled, with much of it involving the conversion of savannahs, grasslands, and even forests into soy-growing areas.
While the United States and Brazil are the leading soy producers, the biggest importers of soy for animal feed are China and the European Union. The United Kingdom is also a major importer, bringing in 3 million tonnes per year. The cultivation of this soy requires a land area approximately 11 times the size of Greater London. Alarmingly, 77% of this import comes from regions with high deforestation risks.
Soy is a favored crop for animal feed due to its high protein content. Yet, it is crucial for the food system to find a more sustainable replacement that can adequately fulfill animals’ protein requirements.
A 2021 study conducted by Capestone, an organic farm, discovered that soy can be substituted with pea protein in chicken feed without compromising the quality of the chickens themselves. Pea protein, being high in protein, serves as a suitable protein substitute for soy. The study, supported by the ‘Future Foods Wales’ project, observed the weight and color variations of the chickens over time as they consumed the modified feed. The soybean in the feed was gradually replaced by the white field pea.
As the soybean was replaced, the chickens displayed an increased redness and yellowness in their color due to higher carotene intake, a plant pigment responsible for coloration. However, this change did not impact the color of the chickens when displayed in retailers. Additionally, the chickens exhibited a low shear force, indicating tenderness.
This suggests that altering the feed does not compromise meat quality and that animal feed does not necessarily have to rely on soy.
To tackle the issue of soy-based feed, the WWF offers potential solutions in its 2022 Future of Feed Report. The report suggests that livestock should switch from soy feed to feeds with lower opportunity costs, such as grassland, insect meal, or seaweed.
By utilizing agricultural by-products, the demand for agricultural land can be significantly reduced. ‘Low opportunity cost’ feed refers to providing animals with food that would not be suitable for human consumption, as opposed to ‘high opportunity cost’ food that could be consumed by humans. The report proposes using human food waste, which accounts for one-third of global food, to feed animals, without costing any calories to humans.
However, it is crucial to ensure that animals receive the necessary nutrients from low opportunity cost feed. For instance, dairy cattle may experience decreased milk yield when consuming a grass-based diet, but their milk yield increases when fed rapeseed cake.
Nevertheless, the WWF emphasizes that changing animal feed alone is insufficient to achieve a sustainable food system. They state, “We cannot put our food system on a sustainable footing if we continue to produce livestock at current volumes. In countries with very high levels of meat and dairy consumption, like the UK, we need to reduce meat and dairy intake and promote plant-rich diets.”
