http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/biotechcrops/
< .2% of soy acreage = organic.
http://grist.org/food/the-soy-next-door/
As vegetarian diets grew in popularity — concurrent with the commercialization of organic farming — Big Food found ways to co-opt and mass-market soy, using a synthetic solvent called hexane to extract soy protein isolates from the bean. These isolates give veggie burgers and energy bars a cheap dose of protein.
The Cornucopia report looked at the environmental and health effects of using hexane in soy processing, a practice Steve Demos, founder of White Wave Foods, called “the dirty little secret of the natural-foods business.”
“Hexane is a neurotoxin, according to the CDC and the EPA, and that’s something that nobody will dispute,” Vallaeys said. “What they will dispute is how much the residues harm people. There really have not been any long-term studies on what the effects are.”
The EPA lists hexane — a petroleum byproduct of gasoline refining — as a hazardous air pollutant. In 2003, two workers in an Iowa soybean processing plant died when hexane gas at the plant ignited...Workers exposed to large amounts of hexane over long periods of time have also shown nerve damage....the toxin hasn’t been tested for its impacts on consumers who eat products that may be tainted with hexane residue — like protein bars and infant formula.
USDA organic standards specifically prohibit the use of hexane, so certified-organic soy products should be risk-free. But, as Vallaeys explained, a “second tier” of organic standards allows products with at least 70 percent organic components to claim to be “made with organic ingredients.” So, while Clif Bar can drive sales by declaring its products are “made with organic oats and soybeans,” it can still get away with using hexane-extracted soy protein isolates in the remaining 30 percent of its ingredients that don’t have to conform to organic standards...
http://grist.org/food/the-soy-next-door/
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