Real Food Encyclopedia | Soy Milk

Soy milk’s popularity has waned in recent years with the rise of other alternatives to cow’s milk — like almond and hemp milks — and soy’s increasingly negative image. What are the environmental and health impacts of soy milk? And how is it made? Spoiler: it’s super easy to make at home — without all of the additives and sugar in commercial soy milk — and we’ve got the video to prove it.

Soybeans are thought to be native to China, where they have been cultivated for at least 3,000 years, but recent data shows that there may have been several points of domestication in East Asia (including Northern China, Japan and Korea), some dating back as far as 5,500 years ago.

Soybean cultivation was documented as early as the late 18th century in the US, when, according to “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America,” the seeds were brought back from China in 1765. As is the case today, soy in the US was mainly used as forage for animals, but soy products like soy milk and tofu are increasing in their popularity

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What to Look for When Buying Soy Milk

A heads up that commercial soy milks are usually treated to remove some of the soy bean’s characteristic “beany” flavor. This is done through processing and by adding sugar and flavorings (like chocolate and vanilla). Commercial soy milk is also often artificially thickened to enhance the “mouthfeel” of the product — that is, to make the drink feel more like whole cow’s milk.

Sustainability of Soy Milk

GMOs and Soy

According to the USDA, nearly 100 percent of all soy acreage planted in the US is genetically modified (GM) to be herbicide-tolerant (HT), up from only 17 percent in 1997. HT soybean plants, developed by the agricultural giant Monsanto (now Bayer Monsanto), are resistant to herbicides that are used to control weeds — namely Roundup (glyphosate), an herbicide originally developed by Monsanto. Unfortunately, the increased use of glyphosate has resulted in “superweeds” resistant to the herbicide, in some cases necessitating the use of different herbicides and mechanical tilling. Glyphosate has also been connected to cancer.

Environmental Impact of Soy

Soy just surpassed corn as the largest cash crop in the US. What happens to all of this soy, you ask? A whole lot of soybeans are pressed into oil, much of which is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated (read: loaded with heart unhealthy transfat) and used in processed foods and for frying. Much non-organic soybean oil is extracted using hexane, a chemical that has been linked to negative neurological effects. The remaining “soy meal” — what is left after pressing the beans for oil — is frequently used for industrial livestock feed in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Water Impact of Soy

Soy milk’s water footprint is significantly less than cow’s milk’s. One glass of cow’s milk requires about 67 gallons water to produce, whereas one glass of soymilk needs about 18 gallons of water. (And one gallon of cow’s milk equals about 1,010 gallons of water versus only 270 gallons of water for each gallon of soy milk.)

Cooking with Soy Milk

Soy milk can be used as a substitute for cow’s milk in many recipes, including in baked goods, sauces, smoothies, milkshakes, puddings and custards. There is also an increasing variety of soy milk yogurts on the market — but you can always make your own soy yogurt from homemade soy milk. Of course, it is also used as a substitute for cow’s milk in all the ways Americans use milk — like in cereal, stirred into in coffee and tea, and churned into ice cream.

Storing Soy Milk

Commercial fresh soy milk has a shelf life of about a week to ten days; shelf-stable soy milks are also available. Homemade soy milk has a shorter shelf life because it is free of stabilizers, preservatives and sugar (which acts as a preservative), and will last for no more than five days in the refrigerator.