Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet

by Hannah Ritchie

A lot of soy is grown in Brazil. Brazil is home to the Amazon. The Amazon is being cut down. Join the dots and we quickly reach the conclusion that our tofu, soy milk and veggie burgers are killing the rainforests. People are faced with a dilemma. They want to eat less meat and dairy, but they fear that the replacements are just as bad. This isn’t true. Brazil produces around one-third of the world’s soy. Argentina produces another 11%. In the past – particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s – soy was responsible for deforestation, both directly and indirectly. But it isn’t your tofu or soy milk that’s driving this. Around three-quarters of the world’s soy is used for animal feed: to raise chickens and pigs mostly, but also some cows and fish too.47 One-fifth goes directly to human food, and most of that is for vegetable oil. Just 7% goes to the classic ‘vegan’ products such as tofu, tempeh and plant-based milks. This is particularly true for soy grown in Brazil. Nearly all of its soy – 97% – uses genetically modified (GM) varieties, which are more likely to be used for animal feed than human consumption. In fact, GM soy is not allowed for direct human consumption in some markets, such as the European Union. It’s very unlikely that your tofu is killing the Amazon. Switching from meat and dairy to these alternative products is much more likely to save the forest than destroy it.