Is soy bad for the environment? Soy, rainforest & animal feed explained
Created on: September 8, 2026
Last edited on: September 8, 2026
Not inherently. The cultivation of soy can be associated with deforestation, habitat loss, and other environmental problems. However, the vast majority of soy grown worldwide is not used directly for foods like tofu or soy milk, but as animal feed. Only a small portion is used directly for human consumption.
Disclaimer: Veganism is NOT an environmental movement, but an animal rights movement. Nevertheless, we consider addressing environmental concerns to be relevant and wish to address real doubts related to a vegan way of life in this FAQ.
What is soy used for?
Most people primarily think of tofu, soy milk, or vegan burgers when they think of soy. But on closer inspection, the matter becomes much more nuanced. In fact, by far the largest part of the global soy harvest is not used for vegan foods, but as animal feed. Worldwide, more than three-quarters of the soy harvest is fed to animals - predominantly in the form of soy meal (Our World in Data).
→ This means: If you consume animal products - especially meat, dairy, and eggs - soy was likely part of the production chain - even if the product itself does of course not explicitly state "soy."
Is soy meal just a waste product?
It is often argued that soy meal is produced anyway during the production of soy oil and that animal husbandry is therefore not responsible for soy cultivation. However, it's not that simple.
Soybeans are predominantly processed into soy oil and soy meal. The soy meal is rich in protein and is mainly fed to animals.
Soy meal is not a worthless waste product, but an economically relevant co-product of soy oil production. Both are produced together during the processing of soybeans. Soy meal is a central component of global soy demand. Therefore, declaring animal husbandry "innocent" of the environmental impacts would be too simplistic.
How much soy is used for vegan foods?
Globally, approximately 7% of the total soy harvest is directly processed into foods such as tofu, soy milk, or tempeh (Our World in Data). The WWF, when considering the soy cultivation area required for the German diet, even comes to a ratio of approximately 96 to 4: around 96% of the required area is used for animal feed production, while only about 4% is needed for plant-based foods such as tofu, soy milk, or soybeans.
Depending on the dataset, the proportion is indicated differently. The frequently used value of approximately 77% refers to the use of the soy harvest as animal feed. Other calculations, however, consider the soy cultivation area required for a specific diet and therefore arrive at different ratios.
The crucial point remains: The problem is not simply "soy." A very large part of global soy cultivation is associated with the animal industry.
Where is soy grown?
Cultivation is highly concentrated in a few countries. The USA, Brazil, and Argentina together produce approximately 80% of the world's soy harvest. The main supplier Brazil is particularly relevant for the environmental discussion: large areas of natural ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, and savannas have been cleared and converted into agricultural land, with soy cultivation playing a significant role.
Is rainforest cut down for tofu?
Soy cultivation can contribute to the conversion of ecosystems, particularly in regions like Brazil. However, this does not mean that rainforest is fundamentally cut down for tofu. Soy for food can, for example, come from European cultivation regions, while a large portion of globally produced soy is used as animal feed.
Where does the soy in tofu and soy milk come from?
Soy for food and soy for animal feed do not necessarily come from the same regions. Depending on the product and supply chain, soy for tofu or soy milk can come from Europe or other cultivation regions, for example. Those who want to minimize environmental impact can therefore pay attention to the origin of the soy.
Is tofu harmful to the environment?
Tofu is not completely without environmental impact and not all soy products for human consumption are automatically environmentally friendly. But the question should always be: What are we comparing it to?
When soy is used directly as a high-quality plant-based protein source for humans, we bypass the inefficient intermediate step of feeding an animal with it and then eating the animal.
Is soy or meat more environmentally friendly?
As a rule, soy products like tofu are more environmentally friendly than meat. For a comparable amount of protein, tofu requires significantly less agricultural land and usually causes lower environmental impacts than meat. In the production of animal products, not only the soy itself is included in the environmental balance. Added to this are the areas for other feed and the keeping of animals, as well as emissions. While tofu also consumes resources, it can enable a more efficient use of plant-based proteins.
The WWF concludes that the land and water requirements for a comparable amount of protein from meat are many times higher than for soy products.
Conclusion: Is soy harmful to the environment?
Not per se. Soy cultivation can cause significant environmental problems in certain regions. However, it does NOT follow that vegan soy products are the main culprits for the problem. More than three-quarters of the global soy harvest is used as animal feed, while only approximately 7% is used directly for foods such as tofu or soy milk. The crucial difference lies between soy as a direct vegan protein source and soy as animal feed.
Therefore, the statement: "Living vegan is bad for the rainforest because vegans eat so much soy" is factually misleading. Much more accurate would be: "A large part of the global soy demand is created by the production of animal products." And precisely for this reason, the direct consumption of soy can even be a way to use resources more efficiently.
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