It was hard to ignore this headline in Bloomberg Business Week:
Soy Takes Its Place at America’s Dinner Table
Food companies hope to profit from new federal diet guidelines
Can the feds get Americans to trade in a sizzling rib-eye for a soggy block of tofu? It’s a question Kraft Foods (KFT), Kellogg (K), and Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) are keen to answer since the U.S. Agriculture Dept. in January began encouraging Americans to eat more soy.
….Big Food soon noticed soy’s double-digit sales growth, and Kraft and Kellogg both acquired companies that made soy-based veggie burgers. In January the USDA included soy in its revised dietary guidelines, and the Soyfoods Association of North America is hoping its time has finally come. “We’ve been preparing for an opportunity to bring soy foods to the mainstream,” says Executive Director Nancy Chapman.
Here’s a nice hint in the article about food processing: “Food scientists also are looking for ways to make soy products taste less like soy.” DuPont, Kraft, Kellogg – these companies are buying up smaller food companies and starting joint ventures to make soy products because federal policies consistently empower Big Agra and Big Food in these highly profitable endeavors. A quick overview of Monsanto’s profits, by product, is found here. There is a reason that Monsanto’s profits were a bit compromised in 2010 – they are banking on the future that includes favorable government policy and ….. more favorable government policy. Don’t believe me, believe the financial analysts and press.
The gist of this piece is that “soy products will experience their fastest growth for uses other than as meat and milk substitutes.” Meat and dairy – two foodstuffs that are not a part of the government’s recommendations, by the way.
