HIDDEN SOY

IT’S PRESENT IN MOST OF OUR FAVOURITE MEALS.

The average European citizen consumes 60.6kg of soy per year.

How is this possible?

OPEN THE FRIDGE TO FIND OUT

You eat way more soy than you think!

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

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

100g

pork meat

41g

soy
23.8kg
Amount of pork meat consumed each year by average European
9.9kg
Amount of soy used to produce this pork meat
Cheese

100g

cheese

24g

soy
19.2kg
Amount of cheese consumed each year by average European
4.7kg
Amount of soy used to produce this cheese
Salmon fillet

100g

salmon steak

95g

soy
2.4kg
Amount of farmed fish such as salmon consumed each year by average European
2.3kg
Amount of soy used to produce this farmed fish
Bowl of yoghurt

200ml

yoghurt

7g

soy
15.7kg
Amount of yoghurt consumed each year by average European
0.5kg
Amount of soy used to produce this yoghurt
Sausages

50g

1 pork sausage

13g

soy
23.8kg
Amount of pork meat consumed each year by average European
9.9kg
Amount of soy used to produce this pork meat
Hamburger (beef)

100g

beef

21g

soy
8.7kg
Amount of beef consumed each year by average European
1.8kg
Amount of soy used to produce this beef
Eggs

55g

1 egg

29g

soy
237 eggs
Number of eggs consumed each year by average European
7kg
Amount of soy used to produce these eggs
Chicken breast

100g

chicken breast

96g

soy
24kg
Amount of chicken meat consumed each year by average European
22.9kg
Amount of soy used to produce this chicken meat
Glass of milk

200ml

milk

7g

soy
56.9kg
Amount of milk consumed each year by average European
1.9kg
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 340 million tonnes of soy produced globally in 2019/2020, around 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 60.6kg of soy per year.
Why so much?
Because in the EU, we eat a lot of animal products. 90% 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 commodity in global food supply chains. However, land used for soy production has been converted from forests, savannahs and grasslands - endangering valuable habitats and species and driving climate change.

123 million hectares were required globally to grow the soy produced in 2019 / 2020. This is more than the size of the UK, France and Germany combined!
Click to convert
Natural ecosystems in highly biodiverse and carbon-rich regions, such as the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest, and the Gran Chaco, have been converted to agricultural land to grow this soy.
Click to convert
Soy production has more than doubled over the last two decades, and is expected to continue to increase.
Click to convert

What can you do?

EU consumption of soy is fueling the destruction of invaluable habitats in other parts of the world. The good news is that there is a way to put an end to this: EU decision-makers are currently discussing a law that could ensure that everything we eat in the EU is nature destruction-free. This is the one shot we have at eliminating deforestation and ecosystem conversion from our market.

As citizens, we must ensure our governments are standing up for nature and support a strong law!

Follow the latest developments around this law via #Together4Forests

Show your support

Show your support by sharing this on social media.

#Together4Forests #Eat4Change

Reduce your consumption

In addition to having a strong EU law in place to stop EU-driven destruction, we need to reduce our consumption of meat and other animal products, including dairy. EU diets are far from sustainable, with consumption of animal-based products exceeding the boundaries of sustainable or healthy consumption. Numerous recent studies have shown that a global shift towards healthier, more sustainable diets will combat climate change, improve human health and food security, reduce biodiversity loss and save lives!

About #Eat4Change and #Together4Forests

Eat4Change is a WWF-led, international project co-funded by the EU, pushing for a shift towards more sustainable diets and food production practices.

Together4Forests is an international campaign, backed by 1.2 million citizens and 180+ NGOs, that is geared towards ensuring further protection of the world’s forests.

Sources: Kuepper, B. and M. Stravens (January 2022), ‘Mapping the European Soy Supply Chain – Embedded Soy in Animal Products Consumed in the EU27+UK’. Profundo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
WWF (May 2021), ‘Soy Traders Scorecard. How committed are soy traders to a conversion-free industry?’ 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.

EU logo