The Safety of Soy
It is remarkable how successful a few individuals have been at demonizing a soybean. A bean. And it is equally remarkable that otherwise intelligent people, who seem to ignore the thousands of studies that undeniably point to the harmful effects of meat, dairy, and eggs, buy into the fear-mongering. Because "is soy safe?" has become the most popular question after "where do I get protein on a vegetarian diet," I decided it was time to create a resource page for you to examine the data yourself.

Please always keep in mind a few things whenever you hear that you should fear the soybean (or anything, for that matter):
1. Who is providing this information?
2. What do they have to gain directly?
3. What do they have to gain indirectly?

Also, as you become more informed about soy and confident that it is not the harmful toxin its detractors make it out to be, it's important to keep in mind the following:
1. You don't have to eat soy foods to be vegetarian. There are hundreds of thousands of edible plant species available if you don't like or have a sensitivity to soy.
2. Eat foods in their whole state as much as possible. Tofu, tempeh, miso, soy nuts, tamari/soy sauce all experience a limited amount of processing. But soy-based lunch-meats, burgers, cheeses, etc. all endure more processing. Don't make these - or any processed foods - the foundation of your diet.
3. Soy is neither miracle food nor is it poison. It is a bean that, like other plant foods, contains health-promoting nutrients.
4 . Be informed so you can help debunk the myths.

Responding to the Allegations

Eating Soy: Myths, Truths, and Everything in Between
by Christa Novelli, M.P.H.

Is it Safe to Eat Soy?
By Virginia Messina, MPH, RD & Mark Messina, PhD

Is Soy Safe?
by Jack Norris, RD

Soy – Food, Wonder Drug, or Poison?
by John McDougall, M.D.

What about Soy?
by John Robbins

Information on interpreting studies on soy

Creating the Fear
The soy detractors are often meat-advocating organizations. They know if they scare people about soy, they create fears about vegetarianism. If you hear something negative about soy, it is likely one of these groups is behind it:

The Weston A. Price Foundation - advocates of a meat-based diet and of nursing into adulthoods (drinking another animal's milk, of course - not human milk). Their website offers laudatory reviews of recipe books for "delicious...warm pig’s head, ox tongue, roast bone marrow, calf’s heart, rolled pig’s spleen, duck neck terrine, duck hearts on toast, many recipes for lamb’s brain, blood cake (made with 1 quart of pig’s blood), pig’s cheek and tongue, gratin of tripe, haggis, deviled kidneys, and lamb’s kidneys." I couldn't make this up. These are the people telling people to not eat soy?

Dr. Mercola - advocates a meat-based (including raw) and raw milk diet. Find recipes for ostrich, bison, raw meat, raw eggs, and raw liver. (strong ties to Weston Price.)

Mt. Banahaw Health Product Corporation (strong ties to Weston Price)

The Soy Online Service