We've been talking about soy a lot this week, from tofu to more tofu to edamame and even soy cheese. For many vegetarians and vegans (and people who grew up in Asian households!), these are dietary staples.
So why would I, a lifelong vegetarian who considers tofu one of her favorite foods, decide to stop eating so much of it?
For a long time, I just assumed that as a vegetarian/vegan, I didn't have to consider the environmental impact of my diet the way meat eaters might. Then, a few years ago, I started to examine the amount of excess packaging and waste associated with my purchases. This, plus a growing interest in supporting local food producers, led to a commitment to buying less processed food and as much food as possible from farmers' markets.
Fewer trips to the grocery store meant fewer blocks of tofu and cartons of soy milk in my refrigerator, and I pretty much stopped eating processed meat substitutes like frozen veggie burgers or fake bacon. Over time, these foods became less integral to my diet and I started eating other types of beans, which I could buy from local farmers or in bulk. I also started learning about the environmental impact of soy, which is associated with Amazon deforestation, heavy pesticide use, and genetic modification. (A good article on this may be found at Civil Eats.)
Certainly we all must make personal choices about what we eat and I am not advocating any one path. But for me, it seemed a good idea to eat less tofu (and other soy products). Not zero tofu – it continues to be one of my favorite foods and still inspires many of my recipes. But I limit it to once a week, at the most, and when I do eat it, I appreciate it more than I used to. I'm also looking into buying organic, non-GMO soybeans in order to make my own tofu and tempeh at home. I'll let you know how it goes!
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I watched an episode on Dr Oz last week that dealt with eating soy. He recommends only 1 serving of soy/soy products a day and to eat as close to unprocessed soy as possible. He said that especially for women, eating too much soy can be a problem because soy can mimic estrogen and block actual estrogen in a womans body. Overtime this makes women more susceptible to certain cancers, and other hormonal imbalances.
I'm a vegetarian and I rarely eat tofu. In fact I rarely eat beans of any sort. I do eat a fair amount of lowfat dairy and eggs and I find it's an adequate way to get protein in my diet.
It is also worth considering that soy is very difficult to digest and has a significant impact on a person's hormones. Traditionally soy has only been consumed when it has been fermented because that process breaks the soy down making the nutrients in soy more bioavailable. Traditionally fermented tofu, soy sauce, and miso are safer. Most of the foods we consume that contain soy are not.
For the environmental and health reasons above, I also rarely eat tofu. I had already found that I preferred eating the plethora of other beans--minimally processed--for protein anyway. I even grow my own!
Chiming in to say that I appreciate that you posted this article. I've been frustrated with TheKitchn all week because it seems like the focus of "vegan week" has been really heavy on what'd I'd consider fake foods (ie: meals for vegans trying to recreate omnivorous recipes). These aren't particularly healthy or adventurous options, not to mention your point about the effect purchasing animal-friendly processed foods has on the environment.
As far as soymilk goes, Organic Valley's soymilk is supposed to be American grown, and I believe some of Eden Food's soy milk is made from soybeans from Michigan.
Not sure about tofu, but I wouldn't be surprised to see American grown sources for that too.
Actually, I just checked google and found a good article by Veganomaly about the good and bad producers in the soy foods world. Hers is more focused on Canada, but it's a good place to start.
Making tofu at home sounds awesome, but it is good to know there should be some organic, non-GMO, more local producers out there.
It's not even an issue for me, soy just does not agree with my belly :)
I have to agree here—I've been a vegetarian for one year, and probably only eat soy about once a month. Meat replacements weren't the reason I became a vegetarian, so it's easy for me to only eat them once in a while. That's not to say I don't indulge in a veggie burger once in a while (and love it!). But the impact of soy on the environment is a big enough reason to avoid eating it daily/weekly. When I do eat soy/tofu, I make sure it's organic and grown close to home.
I believe that fermented soy (miso, tempeh) is much easier to digest and absorb the nutrients from. If I do use soy products, I always buy organic because otherwise it is surely genetically modified. When I lived in Portland, Maine, there were a local farm that grew its own soy beans and made great tempeh with it. Small farm, organic and local!
You can make tofu. I've just started doing that, and the quality is better than what you can get in the stores, and it is cheaaaaaaaaaaap. Even if you use the fancy-schamncy non-GMO beans.
I wish I could find beans at the farmers markets here. I can only get cowpeas for about a month a year (and I freeze as much of them as I can). I am lucky that I can find locally made soy products (but no locally grown soy) at the farmer's market and several grocery stores around town.
I don't eat soy really often (because I like diversity in my diet, not because I'm worried about its health effects). But I also am not worried about the environmental effects of the soy I do consume, since it's grown in the U.S. The vast majority of soy is fed to animals or made into oil.
Here's a grist article with a history of soy production and deforestation: http://www.grist.org/article/growing-demand-for-soybeans-threatens-amazon-rainforest/
Vegans and vegetarians aren't the only ones who are affected by the poor environmental (and maybe health) record of soy. Soy (along with corn) products are an integral part of nearly every processed food out there. Take a look at an ingredients list on something highly processed and you're sure to find soy in some form or another.
There are almost no non-GM seeds left to plant for soy - too much has been contaminated by GM soy.
Here's a quick overview of common GM foods, both raw and processed: http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/BuyingNon-GMO/index.cfm (disclosure: this site is clearly anti-GM, so don't expect "unbiased" opinions)
I also try to limit my soy intake. For one, it's available in so many iterations, and overusing them can lead to a lack of nutritional diversity. I also have concern over the ethical qualms associated with it, like you mentioned.
Here is an article that features a report card for common soy brands using a variety of criteria.
http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/soy-report-and-scorecard/
I'm sometimes able to get tofu from a local farm that makes it from their organic beans, which is nice, but I don't eat tofu too often anyway (though I, like you, find I enjoy it more now that eat it only occasionally).
Tempeh makes a more common appearance in my kitchen and I've recently been experimenting with making my own soy-free version. I tried to do a chickpea one a few months ago but it failed, or so I thought – in hindsight, it may have developed mycelium if I had just let it go longer. I don't have a place to ferment it at a stable 90 degrees, so I have to work with turning the pilot light on and off in my oven to avoid over- or under-heating it. But I just had success with a barley & lentil version! These particular lentils and barley had been languishing in my cupboard and I figured it'd be worth taking the risk. And it worked! I just did a test sautée to get a feel for the flavor with some aromatics and it has none of the bitter flavor of store-bought tempeh and it has a nice savory, lightly mushroomy, nutty flavor. I usually simmer tempeh in a marinade or blanch it in salt water before sautéing/roasting/grilling to help it absorb flavor, but this tempeh was delicious without those steps. I'm super excited because I love the texture, versatility and convenience of tempeh. So if I get the hang of putting in the effort to make it regularly, I can always have some in the fridge and some in the freezer for quick weeknight meals.
Anyway, there are so many delicious beans (including lovely heirlooms that I would never waste on tempeh making because they're too much of a treat in their unadulterated form) and so many more delicious ways to prepare them; I'm not sure why people put soy on such a pedestal when discussing vegan & vegetarian foods.
As Wildwoodsflowers, I think the most important reason to not overdo it on the Soy product is because of the Hormone Imbalance caused by the overconsumption on it. Being safe, healthy, and not fucking crazy should always take priority in one's diet.
I have a serious problem with soy, for all the reasons mentioned. I don't consider it an environmentally or economically responsible product, it poses what can be serious health risks to people not informed re: phytoestrens, and it is marketed irresponsibly in the sense that in many forms it is so hard for the body to process that none of the supposed nutrition in the product gets into your body. Couple that with recent research re: full-fat dairy diets (certain types of female infertility have been linked to the lack of such a diet), and I avoid soy at every possible opportunity.
I have a serious problem with soy, for all the reasons mentioned. I don't consider it an environmentally or economically responsible product, it poses what can be serious health risks to people not informed re: phytoestrens, and it is marketed irresponsibly in the sense that in many forms it is so hard for the body to process that none of the supposed nutrition in the product gets into your body. Couple that with recent research re: full-fat dairy diets (certain types of female infertility have been linked to the lack of such a diet), and I avoid soy at every possible opportunity.
Two questions:
I have been pouring soy milk over my cereal each morning for nearly 20 years. I digest it well, prefer it over cow's milk and it provides more protein than rice or almond milk (I think). Since my body no longer produces much estrogen, I should be fine with the hormone aspect, right? But IF U.S. produced Silkmilk is not environmentally responsible to consume (which I must research) what is a good alternative?
the majority of gm soy responsible for deforestation is used as cattle feed. i agree that people can really overdo the soy products (veg or not, soy sneaks into many foods we all eat just like corn), but i still feel like the organic, non-gmo tofu i find at my regular grocery store is better for the environment than eating the meat/dairy from a cow that was fed a steady diet of gm corn and soy any day of the week.
I have to stop eating soy products because I need to be on a low iodine diet for a few months until I'm done with radiation. I will miss it though!
Two questions: 1) What are the chances that the fresh tofu I buy from the Asian produce market in my neighborhood is non-GMO? 2) How do you know that the pre-packaged tofu in the store is non-GMO? I am assuming that saying "organic" is not enough, but I've never known what to look for.
There has been so much controversy surrounding soy products lately, particularly as it relates to estrogen sensitive cancers. I read food labels all the time and soy lecithin is used in so many processed foods today. Traditionally, soy was consumed as a fermented product (soy sauce, tempeh, miso, natto) or as fresh tofu, which is simply made from fresh soy milk. Today, most soy is genetically modified, which makes it even more worrisome. There are health and environmental reasons to be concerned about soy intake. I have found non-GMO soybeans and tofu, but they are not easy to find.
Arielle - As far as the USDA is concerned, if Soy is labeled Organic, it cannot have used GMO soybeans.
However, no one can control the winds effect of cross-pollination with one GMO field and a neighboring non-GMO field, so, yeah....
Annabe - organic and genetically modified are not mutually exclusive terms. In the US over 90% of soybeans are genetically modified because Monsanto, a seed distributor, produces soybeans which are genetically modified where the pollen can transfer to other non-genetically modified plants. Try this article: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1599110,00.html
Considering how awful the highly altered GM soy is I'm surprised that any vegan would eat it. I consider the locally raised, grass-fed beef that I eat to be far less negative on the planet than Monsanto's nasty beans! If I eat soy I am careful to get heritage beans or Japanese importated miso.
KerryNM, I don't think that eating beef has less impact on the environment than eating tofu. If someone can back this up with evidence, I'd love to read it.
I am a vegetarian who eats little soy because i have hypothyroidism (underactive) and soy exacerbates my condition. I agree with the others - as a vegetarian, my goal is not to find meat substitutes, but to enjoy the bounty within my eating choices.
I had been living in Japan and eating serious amounts of tofu and other soy when I developed endocrinological problems -- pituitary and thyroid, not the estrogen issues that's commonly discussed. Turns out the Japanese diet trigggered problems that might never occured otherwise. If you have THYROID issues, please talk to your endoriniologist and do reasearch on your own to determine whether you want to consume soy and how much. To be honest, but for my health issues, I'd be eating lots of tofu, irrespective of the impact on the environment. There is plenty more I do that is worse.
In the book The Orgamic Diet, the author, Marrenna Lindberg, talks a fair about the hormonal impact of soy products and recommends that it's better for your hormonal balance not to eat them. Add this to the environmental impact, and I believe soy items are better for occasional recipes, not everyday.
Here's an interesting article about soy-growing in Brazil and how it's destoying the rainforest. Sadly, it's only in German:
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,456376,00.html
The problem with soy is not only where it is grown (and has to be transported from) but also that it depletes the soil it's grown in. So after a few years nothing will grow there - and new land has to be cultivated.
But you also have to think that most soy is used to feed animals for slaughter.
Regarding thyroid, my endocrinologist thinks eating soy is fine. The only diet adjustment I have to make is taking my medicine while fasting. And I had thyroid disease long before I ate my first piece of tofu or glass of soymilk. But of course, ask your own doctor if you're concerned.
Has anyone tried makeing homemade meat-subsititues that are free of soy or tofu? They are(most of the time anyways) delicious.
I make an excellent black bean-mushroom-red pepper burger.
i've also heard of too much soy (or i guess, too much of any one food) can trigger an allergy. i've known two veg*n's who've dealt with such.
@ SMM...I didn't say 'eating beef', I said eating beef that was raised local to me (within 20 miles), using no hormones or antibiotics. the animal was left to roam and graze on open ranch lands in New Mexico where I live. The animal is then humanely butchered and 100% is utilized in some way or other. THAT is far better than deforestation, extreme genetic modification and transporting the resultant franken-bean 1/2 way around the planet for processing, IMHO!
How do users report spam comments like the one posted at 7:17pm by the user named "shop"? Most blogs have a "Report this comment" button, but I don't see one here.
@NewVoice : you can try using Earth Balance soymilk! It is made from US grown, non-GMO soybeans, and is delicious!
there are oftentimes coupons at whole foods for this soymilk :)
I'm a vegan who is sicksicksick of the false dichotomy presented by the anti-soy set. Not that this article is necessarily in that camp, but whenever I hear words like "I also started learning about the environmental impact of soy, which is associated with Amazon deforestation, heavy pesticide use, and genetic modification," I can't help but roll my eyes.
Sure, there are lots of industrial, GMO, deforesting, crappy sources of soybeans, but 1) those are often being used to feed livestock, which are then eaten by people, which means that far more soy is consumed feeding food animals than would be consumed if people just ate the soy directly, and 2) there are plenty of non-GMO, local (or local-ish, depending on where you live), organic, sustainable soy growers out there. If a person is concerned about the environmental impact of their eating, they should absolutely look into where their food is coming from and do their best to eat locally, and low on the food chain, but that doesn't necessarily mean cutting out all soy products.
The article was about tofu and soy products in the UK, so if you live there, then perhaps you should be concerned. I live in the US, which is a major producer of soy beans, and the soy products I eat are from US-grown soy beans, so I don't see a serious environmental problem.
I grew up eating tofu and soy products, since I'm Chinese-American, and since I've been vegetarian for 20 years, I definitely eat soy products now and then. I don't overdo it, since they do contain phytoestrogens, but in moderation, I don't see any problems whatsoever.
Soy is atrocious in other environmental ways too - the local soy for me in Ontario (and I assume it's the same in Michigan, since it's so similar geographically) is by draining wetlands for farmland. Soy is one of the first crops planted to claim the area for farmland, and it's utterly devastating to amphibians and small fish, particularly when coupled with the pressures of urban populations and the stabilisation of temporary water bodies for stocking of commercial fish species (the highly carnivorous salmonids, for example)
If you care about biodiversity, beef is by far the way to go. The Canadian prairie generally ranches beef on community pasture prior to finishing and it's wonderful - cervids and pronghorn everywhere, foxes, coyotes, raptors, migratory bird species, amphibians and reptiles are all present and doing well! I saw a lot of rare stuff there that you just don't seen in small conservation areas because the edge impacts are too great.
It probably won’t meet all your soy demands, but this past summer I discovered that soy is incredibly easy to grow in your own garden. The plants are relatively small and produce a lot of beans. Very tasty!
I second the making your own soy milk/ tofu camp! It's the best way to go! The vast majority of soy is farmed for livestock feed- that is the source of the environmental devastation, not the small amount used for direct human consumption in North America. I buy my soy beans from a small, local organic, non-gmo farm that rotates its crops and sustains production through veganic farming methods. As with EVERYTHING you buy, including meat- if you do your research, you will be in a better place to make ethical consumption choices. There is no reason to eschew a food group because it in often made unethically (unless it is inherently unethical).
I never knew tofu was such a controversial subject!
Monsanto's "roundup ready" soy allows farmers to use less herbicide - a plus for the farmer and the planet. Another result of GM soy is modified fatty acids so that the oil has better nutritive and cooking processes. This type of trait could instead be bred into a plant, but that involves introducing 10's of 1000's of genes into your "food" crop.
I, too, hate monsanto, but not because of the transgenes.
You all might also be surprised that the USDA does not certify any foods as safe. I liked what my grandmother (who lived into her late 90's) said: Moderation in Everything. Even tofu!
There's a lot of pseudoscience and 'I heard'-science going on in the comments here. Not all soybeans are GMO, not all tofu is trucked long distances. For example, there's a local place here in NC that grows their own beans and makes their own meat-substitutes out of soy. They then sell at WholeFoods and directly to restaurants in the area. Unless you're eating soy products for every single meal, I don't think you need to worry about your soy intake. Vary your eating habits and protein sources, and have a happy plate of tofu whenever you feel like it.
surely there's a local source for you? i live in kansas city and we've got some fantastic local, organic tofu-makers (and soybean growers) within about 50 miles of the city.
Thank you for this article! My boyfriend and I are both vegetarians and he is deathly allergic to soy, so we obviously avoid a lot of the meat substitutes that are out there. But it seems that when non-vegetarians think about the vegetarian diet, they just assume that we eat all-tofu, all the time. Thanks for pointing out that there are many better alternatives to meat and soy!
@newvoice - I'm assuming you're a woman who has gone through menopause. For hormonal issues, I've heard that women over 35 are okay but under should limit soy intake.
Have you tried rice milk or almond milk? I've seen hemp milk at the grocery store lately as well, in the gluten-free/diabetic foods aisle.
To the person wondering what mock meats are out there that don't contain soy: seitan is wheat gluten and is not made with soy. You basically wash flour and drain out all the starch until only the gluten is left. You can add different flavors to it or you can have it plain. If you buy something already made, you should check the ingredients. If you want to make it yourself, there are lots of videos and recipes online that show you how to do it.
I'm a vegetarian.I make an excellent soy beans tofu and soy products....
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