Comments on: Behind the label: Soya http://prismwebcastnews.com/2009/01/13/behind-the-label-soya/ Ecology, Sustainability, Equality, Democracy, Peace Wed, 23 May 2012 15:20:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: John Chapman http://prismwebcastnews.com/2009/01/13/behind-the-label-soya/#comment-17720 John Chapman Sun, 17 May 2009 15:02:45 +0000 http://prismwebcastnews.com/?p=4227#comment-17720 Very interesting. 25 years ago as an experiment I added about 1/2 kg of full fat soya meal to a thin horse's daily diet. Within a week or so it started to put on weight, and its coat began to shine. Ever since I have included full fat soya in most of the horse feeds & supplements which I have manufactured and sold; the vast majority of my customers' horses have remained fit and well; one or two have lived until over 40. For the last 10 years I have bought any-origin soya, which will have included genetically modified material (and have also purchased GM flaked maize). For the first 2- 3 years I was unaware that I was using GM material. As the debate got underway I proceeded to consult as many authorities as possible concerning the suitability of GM products in equine diets; no-one to date has presented any evidence to show that they are in any way harmful. I have discussed this issue with a variety of people more highly qualified than me (medical, veterinary, degrees, phds in nutrition etc). When I first became involved in manufacturing animal feeds a highly experienced nutritionist advised me to avoid including high levels of any one ingredient in a diet, as this was likely to cause problems, such as those listed for soya in the article above. I conclude therefore that, on the basis of my 25 years of experience, use of moderate levels of full fat soya (GM or otherwise) in equine diets can be safely continued. Manufacturers of human food products should take note of the points raised in the article above, particularly when formulating products for use by infants. It has long been known that aluminium can be toxic, so should not be used in any food processing equipment. One suspects that if world consumption of soya stopped immediately, the world population would rapidly become protein deficient. There are very few food ingredients which can be described as totally safe for all to eat; it is a matter of achieving a sensible balance in a diet, so as to minimise risks & maximise benefits. The above article's author's obvious antipathy to GM products and agrochemicals casts some doubt upon the credibility of the rest of the article, with the exception of the comment about destruction of the Rain Forest. (N.B GM technology may provide higher yielding crops requiring less land!) John Chapman M.A. (Cantab) Equine Nutritionist Very interesting. 25 years ago as an experiment I added about 1/2 kg of full fat soya meal to a thin horse’s daily diet. Within a week or so it started to put on weight, and its coat began to shine.

Ever since I have included full fat soya in most of the horse feeds & supplements which I have manufactured and sold; the vast majority of my customers’ horses have remained fit and well; one or two have lived until over 40.

For the last 10 years I have bought any-origin soya, which will have included genetically modified material (and have also purchased GM flaked maize). For the first 2- 3 years I was unaware that I was using GM material. As the debate got underway I proceeded to consult as many authorities as possible concerning the suitability of GM products in equine diets; no-one to date has presented any evidence to show that they are in any way harmful. I have discussed this issue with a variety of people more highly qualified than me (medical, veterinary, degrees, phds in nutrition etc).

When I first became involved in manufacturing animal feeds a highly experienced nutritionist advised me to avoid including high levels of any one ingredient in a diet, as this was likely to cause problems, such as those listed for soya in the article above.

I conclude therefore that, on the basis of my 25 years of experience, use of moderate levels of full fat soya (GM or otherwise) in equine diets can be safely continued.
Manufacturers of human food products should take note of the points raised in the article above, particularly when formulating products for use by infants. It has long been known that aluminium can be toxic, so should not be used in any food processing equipment.

One suspects that if world consumption of soya stopped immediately, the world population would rapidly become protein deficient. There are very few food ingredients which can be described as totally safe for all to eat; it is a matter of achieving a sensible balance in a diet, so as to minimise risks & maximise benefits.

The above article’s author’s obvious antipathy to GM products and agrochemicals casts some doubt upon the credibility of the rest of the article, with the exception of the comment about destruction of the Rain Forest. (N.B GM technology may provide higher yielding crops requiring less land!)

John Chapman M.A. (Cantab)
Equine Nutritionist

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