Thursday, August 22, 2013

Almond juice?...

 Apparently, soy milk is soooo yesterday.
Something is clearly dampening enthusiasm for drinkable soy. WhiteWave claims that across the plant-milk industry, soy now represents just 35 percent of sales; almond milk, by contrast, has surged to more than 55 percent of the market. Research firm Euromonitor International expects U.S. retail sales of soy milk to falla further 11 percent this year.What gives? Well, almond milk contains no saturated fat, has fewer calories than soy, and is rich in vitamin E. Another factor: Soybeans just aren’t hip, says Larry Finkel, director of food and beverage research at Marketresearch.com. “Nuts are trendy now,” he explains. “Soy sounds more like old-fashioned health food, like tofu, and could probably benefit by a reinvigoration of their brand.”It’s also possible that some consumers remain concerned about research linking soy and breast cancer, even if those claims may be unfounded. The American Cancer Society says soy is fine in moderation. [More]

I wonder if anti-GMO is playing a part in this. 
Two years ago, Dean Foods, owner of Silk Soymilk, was heavily criticized  for switching from organic to conventional soy beans without clearly labeling the change with different packaging. For many years, Silk soymilk was certified organic. In 2009, they introduced a “natural” line where the soymilk was made from conventionally grown soybeans (where pesticides are used along with GMOs), but the packaging was identical to the organic line. Even the price retailers charged was the same. [More]
Meanwhile, my local elevator, AC Grain - now a joint venture between Cargill and Mitsubishi - has been surveying local famers to find out what premium it would take to source non-GMO beans. What was entertaining was trying to explain to Aaron how you can grow beans without glyphosate. He found it hard to believe, but looking at our fields, we may have to relearn.


3 comments:

karl hess said...

there is a $2.00 a bushel premium for non-GMO beans in the MidAtlantic area. $2.00 a bushel is more when beans are 10, 11 and 12 a bushel than when beans are 14, 16 and ???

Anonymous said...

John Ontario farmers can get from $1+ for bin run non-gmo's -$3+ for IP beans depending on Variety . With Canada Fleabane (marestail) and giant ragweed being gylphosphate resistant it doesn't make much sense paying $50+ a unit for RR seed and even more so as alot of us have seen our bean yields fall 10 bu. an acre in the last 10-20 yrs. Since no til and RR became so popular . Corn just keeps getting better and better ,know one knows for sure why beans have faltered.-regards kevin

CJW said...

I have been suspicious of GM crops from the beginning. I grew up listening to conversations about problems with herbicide programs & figured that as rigid as many GM programs are, that there would be significant failure in the long run. Flexibility is the answer to most of life's problems according to my Grandfather. (This is a more polite phrasing of his sentiment.) He also taught me there is no such thing as a universal panacea. Adding on a premium for non-GM crops for all the unimportant reasons (the whole "franken-food" thing), I hope will spur a turn away from dependance on rigid programs and toward customization on a farm by farm basis.