Look closely - Your tofu and soy milk may not be organic

In news that may make supermarket label readers and organic consumers even more wary, a recent report raised serious questions about many brands of soy products.

• White Wave and Silk soy products (owned by industry giant Dean Foods) currently source most of their soybeans from China, not the United States.
• Organic certification in China is questionable at best. The USDA only recently visited China for the first time to survey organic soy farms, but on the trip only visited 2 farms, and found rampant and systemic non-compliance with US organic certification standards on those 2 farms.
• Widespread use of the chemical hexane (a neurotoxin) during production. The chemical is used by non-organic producers as a cheap method to separate the soy oil from the protein and fiber.

The good news is that the study found several companies that were and continue to be strongly committed to organic and local soy products: Eden Foods, Small Planet Tofu, and Vermont Soy scored very highly and received accolades from the report authors for their insistence on dealing directly with American organic farmers.

As part of their study, The Cornucopia Institute created an Organic Soy Scorecard which is a terrific summary of the dozens of producers of soy products, their market area, and an overall rating.