The hidden world of soy

It’s not just vegetarians who eat it.

Europeans consume on average 61 kg of soy per year.

How is this possible?

Enter the fridge to find out

You eat way more soy than you think!

You won’t see it listed as an ingredient, but there’s a huge amount of soy that goes into the animal products you find in your fridge.

Hover over the items to find out how much!
Pork meat

100g

pork meat

51g

soy
25.4kg
Amount of pork meat consumed each year by average European
12.9kg
Amount of soy used to produce this pork meat
Cheese

100g

cheese

25g

soy
16.8kg
Amount of cheese consumed each year by average European
4.1kg
Amount of soy used to produce this cheese
Salmon steak

100g

salmon steak

59g

soy

Relevant data on farmed fish is not yet available

Yoghurt

200ml

yoghurt

3g

soy
42.9kg
Amount of yoghurt and other milk products consumed each year by average European
0.7 kg
Amount of soy used to produce this yoghurt and other milk products
Pork sausage

50g

pork sausage

17g

soy
25.4kg
Amount of pork meat consumed each year by average European
12.9kg
Amount of soy used to produce this pork meat
Hamburger

100g

hamburger

46g

soy
9.3kg
Amount of beef consumed each year by average European
4.2kg
Amount of soy used to produce this beef
Chicken wings

100g

chicken meat

109g

soy
18.6kg
Amount of chicken meat consumed each year by average European
20.3 kg
Amount of soy used to produce this chicken meat
Eggs

55g

1 egg

35g

soy
214 eggs
Amount of eggs consumed each year by average European
7.5kg
Amount of soy used to produce these eggs
Chicken breast

100g

chicken breast

109g

soy
18.6kg
Amount of chicken meat consumed each year by average European
20.3kg
Amount of soy used to produce this chicken meat
Milk

200ml

milk

7g

soy
59.7kg
Amount of milk consumed each year by average European
2kg
Amount of soy used to produce this milk

Where does soy come from?

The majority of the soy used in Europe comes from South America.

Of the 284 million tonnes of soy produced globally in 2013/2014, 75% was used as animal feed.
This soy feed is used to produce the meat, eggs, fish and dairy that ends up on our dinner tables
The average European consumes 61kg of soy per year.
Why so much?
Because in the EU, we eat a lot of animal products. 93% of the soy consumed by Europeans is in the form of animal feed.

Why should you care?

High in protein and energy, soy is a key part of the global food supply. However, land used for soy production has been converted from forests, savannahs and grasslands - endangering valuable habitats and species.

113 million hectares were required globally to grow the soy produced in 2013 / 2014. This is the size of UK, France and Germany combined!
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Land has been converted in areas of global importance such as the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest, and the Gran Chaco.
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Soy production in South America has nearly tripled in the last 20 years. Global production is predicted to double again by 2050.
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What can you do?

To stop more forests and habitats being destroyed due to growing soy production, we need to take immediate action.

Reduce your consumption

As a longer term strategy, we need to reduce our consumption of meat and other animal products. EU diets often contain more animal protein than recommended.

Show your support

Show your support by sharing this on social media.

#HiddenSoy

Tweet a company

To prevent immediate habitat loss, we are also asking companies to source soy that has been responsibly produced, such as soy that has been certified by the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) or ProTerra. Help us by Tweeting a company!

Select your country

Sources: Kross, H., Kuepper, B. 2015. Mapping the Soy Supply Chain in Europe: A Research Paper Prepared for WNF. Profundo, Amsterdam, Netherlands WWF. 2014. Growth of Soy: Impacts and Solutions. WWF International, Gland, Switzerland

The statistics used in this infographic are calculated averages based on available data about consumption in the EU. The statistics for individual EU countries may vary.