Soybean Agriculture: Sweet or Sour Implications?

Over the centuries, soybean production has expanded globally leading to environmental and social concerns over its exponential growth. Before WWII soybeans were mainly grown in Asia, especially in China, as it is a popular a source of protein in eastern diets. The green revolution and the associated technology leap after the war lead to the introduction of soybean plantations in the global market, especially in the US.

Brief History

Soybeans are known to be very effective at fixing nitrogen in soils and, if planted in combination with other popular crops, they allow for soil recovery and support the local nitrogen cycle. This legume crop is not difficult to harvest and benefits crops like wheat and corn. Despite not being especially popular as part of the western diet, the soybean popularity exponentially grew as it became one of the main sources of animal feed thanks to its exceptional content of protein. 

As a result, soybean crops became virtually monopolized by the US, which produced over 85% of this commodity in the world market.

The end of the 20th century represents a turning point for soybean production. As asian countries underwent a rapid economic growth, meat was introduced to their population’s diet. In order to respond to such fast-paced demand not only in China, but South Korea, India and the Philippines, the asian meat industry had to cede to importing large quantities of soy. The European Union is no exception: soybeans were seen as a safe solution to the mad cow issue, which is caused by cattle being fed animal protein.

The global rise of demand of soybean meant that new countries started to cultivate and export this commodity, including: Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina,Paraguay and Mexico. It was at this point that environmental as well as social concerns started to rise as such mass production began to take place in countries that include some of the most diverse landscapes in the world. 

In fact, Brazil has recently overtaken the US as the top soybean exporter, mainly thanks to the advantage of having cheaper agricultural land. Moreover, Latin America provides a much better suited environment for the legume to flourish thanks to warmer and wetter conditions with longer growing seasons.

Soybean production in Brazil in the south of Brazil 
and over the dry savannah (cerrado)

There is a very wide range of “sweet” benefits and advantages as well as more “sour” issues and concerns that need to be discussed regarding the recent global expansion soybean mass production. I hope that this blog will allow for conversation to spark over scientific facts as well as personal experience. I cannot wait to find out how everyone feels about different issues that are connected to soybean agriculture.

The main question I am looking to answer is: 

Is soybean mass production saving or destroying our planet?  

How will I go about answering this question?

As explained by Will Steffen:

 "The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth System"

In this blog I will attempt to use these boundaries as a starting point to discuss the impact of soybean mass production on the environment and the extent to which it is pushing our planet closer to the edge of instability. 

The nine planetary boundaries proposed by Will Steffen 

Stay tuned!