ST. LOUIS—New research from the United Soybean Board (USB) shows nearly 70 percent of U.S. consumers consider sustainability when choosing food products at the grocery store. What’s more, 78 percent of consumers consider the sustainability of farm-produced ingredients when buying products on the supermarket shelf.
According to an independent quantitative study conducted by USB U.S. consumers believe sustainability is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities.
In the USB study, 72 percent of participants agree U.S. soybean farming is sustainable. Asked what country leads in sustainable farming, respondents rate the U.S. significantly highest at 44.8 percent, followed by Canada (21 percent) and Brazil (8.2 percent).
Less pesticide spraying on crops, better soil health and improved water quality are the top attributes reported among consumers for what makes a farm sustainable. U.S. soybean growers have been committed for many years to using sustainable production methods to meet the needs of the present and future generations, while being stewards of the environment.
Lewis Bainbridge, a USB Director from South Dakota, comments, “The biggest thing we can do for the environment is practice no-till farming, which means not having to turn or plow the land, and thus leaving the soil intact and reducing runoff into streams and waterways. Advances made through biotechnology have produced the soybean varieties that allow us to perform this important conservation practice.”
Soybean conservation tillage, used on more than 65 percent of U.S. soybean acres, has resulted in a 93 percent decrease in soil erosion, 70 percent reduction in herbicide run-off, 50 percent reduction in fuel use and 326 million pounds of reduced CO2 emission – equivalent to 6.3 million cars off of the road. The latest soybean varieties reduce the need for pesticides/herbicides.