Organic Soy Brands Importing soy beans from China

The Organic Consumers Association just reported on a study done by the Cornucopia Institute. It seems like many organic soy brands when bought up by bigger corporations are switching from soybeans grown by American farmers to cheaper beans from China. Not only does this discourage our US farmers from growing their soy organically, but when the USDA sent auditors to inspect Chinese sites, they found multiple noncompliances and found that certifying agents did not always even have a translated copy of the US organic certification standards. 

Even worse, some companies that have been know to be organic are now dropping switching to nonorganic beans. Why is this a problem? Well besides the fact that soy is often genetically engineered and grown with toxic herbicides, it is also usually processed with the chemical solvent 'hexane' which is a neurotoxic chemical. Despite the fact that hexane residue can end up in the soy product, according to the OCA the government does not require testing before selling food to consumers -- even for soy-based infant formula.

Dean Foods who now owns the Silk soymilk line, has quit using organic soybeans and switched to cheaper conventionally grown varieties in most of the Silk products--without changing the UPC codes or LOWERING PRICES. I just went and checked my carton of Silk creamer -- it still says 'organic soybeans' in the ingredients, but do I want to continue to support this company?

According to the article, Eden Foods, Small Planet Tofu, and Vermont Soy work directly with North American organic farmers. Here's the OCA article. Here's the full Cornucopia study.

 

I've written several posts about the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) leacheing from plastic baby bottles, but a new investigation by Environmental Working Group (EWG) reveals that BPA is also used to line nearly all infant formula cans. BPA levels found in liquid formula are likely to be far higher than those that leach from bottles under normal use.

EWG contacted company officials at Nestlé, Ross-Abbot (Similac), MeadJohnson (Enfamil), Hain-Celestial (Earth's Best), and PBM (sold under various names at Walmart, Kroger, Target and other stores). Each company's policy was documented a minimum of three times; twice through detailed phone interviews, and once by an e-mail questionnaire. The results reveal that all manufacturers use BPA to line the metal portions of all infant formula containers, including powdered varieties.

"There is mounting scientific evidence that BPA is toxic, especially to children," said Aaron Freeman, Policy Director with Environmental Defence. "Governments should be acting quickly, starting with a ban on BPA in food and beverage containers."

Previous formula testing by EWG and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has shown that BPA leaches from the plastic lining of metal cans into liquid formula, exposing formula-fed babies to potentially harmful concentrations that are higher than levels leaching from the bottles. BPA levels in powdered formula sold in the United States haven't been tested, but this formula is diluted with water before being fed to babies, and thus poses less risk to babies.
In light of these findings, EWG has created an online guide for parents to help them make the most informed decisions about how they feed their babies.http://www.ewg.org/babysafe