Many of us regularly use soy milk, tofu, tempeh, and other soy products in our diets. Maybe half of us buy an organic version. 

A report on soy and its safety was recently published by the Cornucopia Institute; a group whose mission is to educate us on sustainable and organic farming. It was brought to my attention by Jonny Bowden , nutritionist par excellence. In his newsletter he writes, “By compiling information on the sourcing of soybeans, the use of toxic chemicals for soy protein extraction, and the use or avoidance of genetically modified soybeans, the Cornucopia Institute has created an Organic Soy Scorecard 

that reveals which soy product companies are truly trustworthy vs. those that are not.”

The scorecard compiles data on where the soybeans are sourced from, whether the producers of the soy products are being honest in what they tell us the consumers about this, whether the beans are processed with toxic chemicals or not. Yes you read that right! And more.

The top company is Eden Foods and there are more listed in the report and ratings are given in stars. For those of you who love Trader Joe’s, the affordable gourmet markets, their products were only given 2 stars and they refused to divulge their sources for soybeans. Can’t be a good thing can it?

Shocking to me were these 4 companies, so big, so well marketed as to pretty much own the category in some instances therefore so trusted by consumers. They either buy their beans in China or refused to report sources: Pacific Natural Foods, VitaSoy USE, Westsoy/SoyDream, Silk. Dr. Bowden is not surprised and has a lot to say about these big companies. If you regularly buy these brands of soy products I encourage you to read the rest of his post. I am rethinking many of my purchases based on his information.

Soy, the way it is manufactured in this country, is a controversial as an animal protein substitute but that’s for another post. Right now I just wanted to make you all aware that some of your favorite brands of this product may be putting your health at risk–the very thing you are trying to avoid by eating soy in the first place.

If you buy soy milk, soy yogurt, soy hotdogs, etc please take a few minutes and educate yourself on what brands are best. If you don’t have time to read the report simply switch to Eden Foods or buy from local reputable producers whom you know you can trust.