Chances are you’ve eaten food made with soya beans today, although you may not realise it. They’re not just used for ‘mylk’, tofu, soy sauce, meat alternatives and so on. Forms of the beans are added to a wide range of processed food, including bread and ice cream. Some reports suggest soya foods can help protect against heart disease, menopause symptoms and some cancers – but it has also been claimed that these foods are unsafe. What’s certain is that we’re eating more soya than ever.
According to the OECD, global annual production surged by over 400 per cent between 1990 and 2018, to more than 356 million tonnes. The increase is partly due to the growing popularity of plant-based diets – soya products are popular alternatives to meat protein.