Guest guest Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Hi all Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than 'alpro', which I almost always buy. A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in production. Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in the rain forest. Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya could lead to less careful consideration... and a charge against vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for being ungreen. Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any information, thanks Bea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Hi Bea We use Alpro. I'm not so keen on the own brands I have tasted, and some of them don't have the added B12 and calcium either. I did wonder about the soya problem when I first heard it, but I think that a big proportion of soya products are used for non-vegan/vegetarian foodstuffs. I could be wrong, but I think I heard that most of it was used to feed cows! Hopefully they will stop using the rainforests for it soon. Jo , " beamehta " <beamehta wrote: > > Hi all > Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets > are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than > 'alpro', which I almost always buy. > A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans > for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if > this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in production. > Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in > the rain forest. > > Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to > take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, > the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya > could lead to less careful consideration... and a charge against > vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for > being ungreen. > > Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any information, > thanks > Bea > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 I have also heard that the majority of the soy grown in the world is used for animal feed in factory farming and not for soy milk.Jennifer--- On Tue, 2/24/09, heartwerk <jo.heartwork wrote:heartwerk <jo.heartwork Re: soya milk Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 2:00 PM Hi Bea We use Alpro. I'm not so keen on the own brands I have tasted, and some of them don't have the added B12 and calcium either. I did wonder about the soya problem when I first heard it, but I think that a big proportion of soya products are used for non-vegan/vegetaria n foodstuffs. I could be wrong, but I think I heard that most of it was used to feed cows! Hopefully they will stop using the rainforests for it soon. Jo @gro ups.com, "beamehta" <beamehta@.. .> wrote: > > Hi all > Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets > are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than > 'alpro', which I almost always buy. > A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans > for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if > this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in production. > Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in > the rain forest. > > Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to > take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, > the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya > could lead to less careful consideration. .. and a charge against > vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for > being ungreen. > > Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any information, > thanks > Bea > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Hi Bea, It's absolutely true, the demand for soy is destroying the rainforest; there are also human rights issues involved as indigenous people are forced off their land to make way for soy plantation which themselves have a terrible environmental and social impact for many reasons (which will take me forever to explain)! But this all has little to do with soy milk. It's a well kept secret that 90% of soy is actually fed to animals in Europe (that's over 200 million tonnes per year). The livestock industry is responsible for fuelling soy agriculture and all the devastation it causes, plus it supports the development of genetically modified crops since most soy and corn fed to animals is GM. In UK of course, people refuse to eat GM foods, but the fact is that anyone who eats meat or dairy is doing so without even knowing since animal feeds are often GM and this does not need to be labelled. I don't think it's a good thing to eat a lot of soy, but at least Alpro is non-GM and bought directly from farmers, whereas if you eat meat, you're mostly likely supporting the massive plantations owned by unscrupulous multi-national companies like Cargill. Another point worth adding is that it takes around 10kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef, so it's always more sustainable to eat foods like soy directly rather than indirectly by eating meat and dairy. If you want any more info please do let me know, I research and write about all this stuff all the time! Thanks, Sophie www.foodforchange.org.uk beamehta wrote: Hi all Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than 'alpro', which I almost always buy. A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in production. Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in the rain forest. Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya could lead to less careful consideration... and a charge against vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for being ungreen. Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any information, thanks Bea -- Sophie Pritchard Food for Change / www.foodforchange.org.uk Sustainable, ethical and environmentally responsible food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hi Jennifer I am glad you can confirm that. I thought that was what I had heard. Jo , Jennifer Parrucci <poegurl22 wrote: > > I have also heard that the majority of the soy grown in the world is used for animal feed in factory farming and not for soy milk. > > Jennifer > > --- On Tue, 2/24/09, heartwerk <jo.heartwork wrote: > heartwerk <jo.heartwork > Re: soya milk > > Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 2:00 PM > > > > > > > > > > Hi Bea > > > > We use Alpro. I'm not so keen on the own brands I have tasted, and > > some of them don't have the added B12 and calcium either. > > > > I did wonder about the soya problem when I first heard it, but I think > > that a big proportion of soya products are used for > > non-vegan/vegetaria n foodstuffs. I could be wrong, but I think I > > heard that most of it was used to feed cows! Hopefully they will stop > > using the rainforests for it soon. > > > > Jo > > > > @gro ups.com, " beamehta " <beamehta@ .> wrote: > > > > > > Hi all > > > Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets > > > are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than > > > 'alpro', which I almost always buy. > > > A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans > > > for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if > > > this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in > > production. > > > Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in > > > the rain forest. > > > > > > Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to > > > take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, > > > the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya > > > could lead to less careful consideration. .. and a charge against > > > vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for > > > being ungreen. > > > > > > Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any > > information, > > > thanks > > > Bea > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 We had quite a big campaign in the UK against GM products, and when activists found out where the crops were growing, they destroyed them. This happened on several occasions. We signed petitions, wrote letters, and went to meetings about it. Thankfully we won the point, but we still have to be vigilant, otherwise it will sneak in the back door. It is really bad about the rainforests being used so badly, and the local people. Jo Re: soya milk Hi Bea, It's absolutely true, the demand for soy is destroying the rainforest; there are also human rights issues involved as indigenous people are forced off their land to make way for soy plantation which themselves have a terrible environmental and social impact for many reasons (which will take me forever to explain)! But this all has little to do with soy milk. It's a well kept secret that 90% of soy is actually fed to animals in Europe (that's over 200 million tonnes per year). The livestock industry is responsible for fuelling soy agriculture and all the devastation it causes, plus it supports the development of genetically modified crops since most soy and corn fed to animals is GM. In UK of course, people refuse to eat GM foods, but the fact is that anyone who eats meat or dairy is doing so without even knowing since animal feeds are often GM and this does not need to be labelled. I don't think it's a good thing to eat a lot of soy, but at least Alpro is non-GM and bought directly from farmers, whereas if you eat meat, you're mostly likely supporting the massive plantations owned by unscrupulous multi-national companies like Cargill. Another point worth adding is that it takes around 10kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef, so it's always more sustainable to eat foods like soy directly rather than indirectly by eating meat and dairy. If you want any more info please do let me know, I research and write about all this stuff all the time! Thanks, Sophie www.foodforchange.org.uk beamehta wrote: Hi all Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than 'alpro', which I almost always buy. A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in production. Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in the rain forest. Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya could lead to less careful consideration... and a charge against vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for being ungreen. Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any information, thanks Bea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thanks Sophie, this has been really informative. And it was really good to read everyone's thoughts. I hadn't realised that it was soy specifically that is grown for animal consumption. The scale of it is so problematic. I am going to stick to 'alpro soya' as a brand as feel quite assured by it's environmental conscience.thanks again. I'm going to look up your website link.best wishesBea"Sophie @ Food for Change" <sophie Sent: Tuesday, 24 February, 2009 19:39:43Re: soya milk Hi Bea, It's absolutely true, the demand for soy is destroying the rainforest; there are also human rights issues involved as indigenous people are forced off their land to make way for soy plantation which themselves have a terrible environmental and social impact for many reasons (which will take me forever to explain)! But this all has little to do with soy milk. It's a well kept secret that 90% of soy is actually fed to animals in Europe (that's over 200 million tonnes per year). The livestock industry is responsible for fuelling soy agriculture and all the devastation it causes, plus it supports the development of genetically modified crops since most soy and corn fed to animals is GM. In UK of course, people refuse to eat GM foods, but the fact is that anyone who eats meat or dairy is doing so without even knowing since animal feeds are often GM and this does not need to be labelled. I don't think it's a good thing to eat a lot of soy, but at least Alpro is non-GM and bought directly from farmers, whereas if you eat meat, you're mostly likely supporting the massive plantations owned by unscrupulous multi-national companies like Cargill. Another point worth adding is that it takes around 10kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef, so it's always more sustainable to eat foods like soy directly rather than indirectly by eating meat and dairy. If you want any more info please do let me know, I research and write about all this stuff all the time! Thanks, Sophie www.foodforchange. org.uk beamehta wrote: Hi all Have noticed that here in the UK, more and more of the supermarkets are selling their own brands of soya milk now, a bit more cheaply than 'alpro', which I almost always buy. A friend recently mentioned to me that the production of soya beans for milk is causing more rapid stripping of rain forests. I wonder if this is a direct effect of multiple companies now involved in production. Alpro state on their packaging that they don't buy soya harvested in the rain forest. Whereas its a brilliant thing that soya milk has become so popular (to take the pressure off the dairy industry and ultimately, hopefullly, the cows) it would be awful to think that mass production of soya could lead to less careful consideration. .. and a charge against vegans (although its not just us of course that drink soya milk) for being ungreen. Curious to know other people's thoughts and/or if you've any information, thanks Bea -- Sophie Pritchard Food for Change / www.foodforchange. org.uk Sustainable, ethical and environmentally responsible food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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