The UK and Europe import vast amount of soy to feed to animals, particularly chicken and pigs, raised for meat. This has led to the destruction of the Amazon as farmers cut down the trees to grow massive soy plantations. The environmental and human rights impacts are well documented.

DEFRA has sponsored a 5 year project to investigate whether lupins could be grown in the UK which could replace soy in animal feeds. Like soy, lupins have a high protein content of around 30-40%.

According to the European Feed Manufacturers Association, the EU livestock industry imports over 75% of it’s protein requirements, much of which is soy. Around 98% of the soy comes from Brazil and Argentina, both of which produce a large percentage of genetically modified soy.

Whilst the efforts to replace soy are commendable, I can’t see how this plan is feasible. We import hundreds of thousands of tonnes of soy every year to feed animals, how can our land-scarce island provide the space and water to produce so much animal feed? If we really want to stop the imports of soy, or any other food imports, we need to look at the foods we consume and ensure we make choices that require the least amount of natural resources so that we can make the most of what is available to us here in the UK; and that means we cannot continue to eat high levels of animal products.