The War on Soy: Why the 'Miracle Food' May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare

[marmar]

The War on Soy: Why the 'Miracle Food' May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare

By Tara Lohan, AlterNet. Posted November 21, 2009.

Vegetarians aren't the only ones who should be concerned; there's soy in just about everything you eat these days -- including hamburgers, mac 'n cheese and salad dressing.




These days, you can get soy versions of just about any meat -- from hot dogs to buffalo wings. If you're lactose-intolerant you can still enjoy soy ice-cream and soy milk on your cereal. If you're out for a hike and need a quick boost of energy, you can nibble on soy candy bars.

Soy is a lucrative industry. According to Soyfoods Association of North America, from 1992 to 2008, sales of soy foods have increased from $300 million to $4 billion. From sales numbers to medical endorsements, it would seem that soy has reached a kind of miracle food status.

In 2000 the American Heart Association gave soy the thumbs up and the FDA proclaimed: "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease." Over the course of the last decade medical professionals have touted its benefits in fighting not just cardiovascular disease, but cancers, osteoporosis and diabetes.

But soy's glory days may be coming to an end. New research is questioning its health benefits and even pointing out some potential risks. Although definitive evidence may be many years down the road, the American Heart Association has quietly withdrawn its support. And some groups are waging an all-out war, warning that soy can lead to certain kinds of cancers, lowered testosterone levels, and early-onset puberty in girls.

Most of the soy eaten today is also genetically modified, which may pose another set of health risks. The environmental implications of soy production, including massive deforestation, increased use of pesticides and threats to water and soil, are providing more fodder for soy's detractors. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/water/144074/the_war_on_soy%3A_why_the_%27miracle_food%27_may_be_a_health_risk_and_environmental_nightmare

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Even if the USDA certifies soy is "organic", its standards are lax enough

to allow GM crops to be included.

[safeinOhio]

2. Men should not eat soy

Major cause of the increase in the use of boner pills.

[joshcryer]

7. Yep, shrinks your balls.

[enough]

3. In southeastern PA where I live, the soy fields are drenched with Roundup.

Here's a little more from the article:

snip>

Adding to all these environmental problems with soy is the fact that much of the world's soy (and 85 percent of the U.S crop) is genetically engineered. Since the early '90s farmers in the United States (and now across the world) have been using Monsanto's Roundup Ready soy that is genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, which is liberally sprayed on the crop to kill weeds.

Much of the promise of GE crops was that they'd lead to the use of less pesticides and herbicides, which threaten both human and environmental health. But that hasn't actually panned out. "Because herbicide-tolerant crops are designed to withstand application of weed killers, farmers can apply large amounts of pesticides without fear of harming their crops. The U.S. has seen more than a 15-fold increase in the use of glyphosate, or Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, on major crops from 1994 to 2005," Co-Op America reported.

And more damning evidence has just been released. A new study that just came out this week funded by a coalition of non-governmental organizations including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Food Safety, the Cornerstone Campaign, Californians for GE-Free Agriculture, Greenpeace International and Rural Advancement Fund International USA, found that GE corn, soybean and cotton crops have increased the use of weed-killing herbicides in the U.S. by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008.

snip>

[XemaSab]

4. Soy is an estrogenizer

Fish has mercury.

Cows fart methane.

Pork is poisoning our waterways.

Chicken is inhumane.

I don't own a gun, and I don't hunt.

So what is a body supposed to eat?

[Karenina]

5. ROCKET!

With pine nuts, dried tomatoes, Parmesan and a few drops of pumpkin seed oil!

[joshcryer]

6. Hempseed.

:D

[Dead_Parrot]

8. coconuts. nt

[bhikkhu]

9. Anyone remember the Breathenairians?

:P