SAFEAGE FACT SHEET NO. 2

Soya

Soya bean cultivation presently comprises only 1% of South African agricultural production, although this amount is growing. Food produced from soybeans includes oil, used in margarine, shortening and salad dressings as well as a wide variety of processed products including tofu, soya sauce, simulated milk and meat substitutes and also ice cream and confectioneries. Soya has replaced fishmeal as the main protein component of animal feed. GM soya was first planted here in 2001. 

Unlike maize, where concerns revolve around the contamination of a staple crop, GM soya holds an additional potential to displace traditional crops and natural biodiversity. GM Soya is an industrial crop that requires economies of scale and intensive mechanis­ation to be viable.

In South America GM soya has displaced thousands of small farmers, destroying sustainable livelihoods and disrupting food security. A carpet of chemically dependent, machine-managed soya has replaced communities, forests and grassland to supply animal feedlots in the US, Europe, China and even in South Africa. 

GM products generally, and soya in particular, should be analysed in light of the motive of multinational corporations to secure the control of the production of basic commodities in developing countries.

This so-called “new green revolution” is every bit as disruptive to sustainable, self-sufficient systems and lifestyles as was the first green revolution. Short-term increases in production come at the cost of displacing sustainable systems by factory farms that enrich a small minority. In Argentina alone, at least 150,000 small farmers and their families have been forced off their land by intensive soya farming. Commercially grown soya is predicted to destroy an area of South American forests and savannah equal to that of Great Britain by 2020.

A side effect of herbicide-resistant GM soya is the development of numerous herbicide resistant weeds. The original intention to rely on only a single herbicide has proven misguided. With farmers and the environment now trapped in a chemical treadmill, using ever more toxic chemicals in attempts to deal with the consequences.

Intentional contamination?

From these two lists it becomes clear that despite the best intentions of many of these companies to prevent contamination by GM ingredients, this has nevertheless occurred. Well-trusted household brands suffered a blow to their credibility. The only beneficiaries are the transnational corporations that hold patents on these products. Under South African law[iii] “the user” is liable for any negative consequences. This can mean the farmer, retailer or consumer, but lets developers off the hook.