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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dolorite (talk | contribs) at 09:02, 11 June 2021 (restore mistakenly blanked conversation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Environmental issues section

The entire section has been wiped out and the justification by two different IP accounts for doing so is that apparently one WP:SPA created the section and added all the content. I can tell you that this is is not accurate, because I myself added content back in August of 2019. I can't speak for the rest of the material in the section, but I am restoring the section with my additions and it can be expanded from there, unless other editors wish to restore the entire section.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 12:28, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Brazil only uses 8% of the arable land to plant, there is no savanna deforestation because the savanna is not a forest. This is anti-Brazil propaganda, according to this article, Brazil cannot plant anywhere, right? The article is so ridiculous that it says: "oh, Brazil does not plant soy in the Amazon, but we will criticize it for planting soy anywhere, Cerrado, Desert, after all, we hate plantations" Friend, this is anti-Brazil propaganda, it is not a serious report. European countries have only 30% of the territory preserved, Brazil has more than 60% and is criticized madly. They don't want the country to grow, they can't plant anything, they can't raise cattle, the Brazilian has to stand still and starve to death, right?!?!?!? Star Fiver (talk) 14:13, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Our World in Data is not a forum for "Anti-Brazil propaganda". This is an absurd accusation. Your justifications for deleting sourced materials do not hold water, unless you can prove some sort of bias from the sources cited. It smacks of WP:IDONTLIKEIT.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 14:18, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Socialist sources of private interest are partial. Only the Brazilian knows how they are attacked madly by several angry countries in the world who hate and envy the country's SUSTAINABLE growth. From your profile, you are a socialist, so you can understand that your contribution is PARTIAL.Star Fiver (talk) 14:20, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Spewing ad hominem is not a good way to make your case, and simply being a member of Wikiproject: Socialism does not necessarily make one a socialist. Are you saying that Our World in Data is a "socialist source"? What evidence do you have for this? Not much I imagine. And given your own comments, your contributions here are blatantly biased. You are clearly deleting reliably-sourced material because you don't agree with it.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 14:23, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I am waiting for some smart document, because I do not see these communist sites complaining about the soy plantation in the USA or Europe that ended up with all their forests to plant wheat and sugar beet. Brazil has only 8% of the country's area used for agriculture and 60% is an untouched area, it is one of the countries with one of the most severe environmental laws in the world and these idiots are going to criticize soy plantation in the cerrado, which barely has plants? These people don't even work, go to sleep, friend. Star Fiver (talk) 14:24, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Still waiting for evidence that Vice media or Our World in Data, the cited sources, are "communist sites".--C.J. Griffin (talk) 14:26, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I want to know, little friend, where Brazil can plant something without being criticized by anti-Brazil sites run by people from other countries who want to sell agricultural products in their place. If Brazil plants soybeans on a concrete floor, these freaks will criticize too. In other words, this source is worthless, it is absurdly partial. 14:27, 20 March 2021 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Star Fiver (talk • contribs)
Given the ridiculous comments from user above, I'm thinking that the section should be restored it its entirety, along with my recent additions, as there have been no legitimate reasons given for removal presented on this talk page, just nationalist rhetoric.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 14:36, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I think Wikipedia is not a Greenpeace blog for you to vent your frustrations. Socialists like to criticize without ever doing anything, I am waiting for a logical explanation of where a country can plant soybeans without showing up an eco-Shiite socialist and try to stop everything to see if the country gets poor and only his country gets rich by planting the same thing. Want to "criticize", create a blog. 2804:14D:5C8F:832B:30DB:C5C6:E313:80DF (talk) 14:42, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional Details for Section 5 (Cultivation) Part 3 (Soils)

This page needs more context on how tillage and no-till methods involved in soybean farming impacts soil health. Conservation tillage is only briefly mentioned in the "Genetic Modification" section, but that one quick reference neither defines nor contextualizes tillage in relation to soybean cultivation. I suggest adding the following paragraph below the current paragraph in Section 5.3 =

Soybeans can either be “drilled” into the ground, also known as the “no-till method,” or they can be planted after tillage of soil. Tillage involves using agriculture machinery to overturn a field’s first upper layer of soil in order to improve soil fertility for seedbeds. Tillage is beneficial for weed control yet harmful for soil health since it leads to erosion and depletion of organic matter in the soil. In no-till farming, drilling seeds involves agriculture machinery directly releasing seeds at uniform speed, depth, and spacing into soil that has not been agitated. Instead of tilling the soil, drilling releases seeds into soil that contains crop residue from the prior harvest. This crop residue may be from a grass crop, such as corn or wheat, that soybean is often grown in rotation with [1]. For instance, in the Midwest US, it is common for farmers to alternate a year of cultivating soybeans with a year of cultivating corn so that crops grown after soybeans can benefit from the nitrogen-enriched soil left behind by soybeans [2]. Legumes’ ability to enrich the soil they are grown in is a financial asset for farmers since it reduces the amount of nitrogen fertilizer farmers need to buy for the next crop grown in that soil. However, since the no-till method does not eliminate weeds, it does require more use of herbicides [3].

1 = https://ncsoy.org/media-resources/growing-soybeans/ 2 = https://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/farmschool/nature/soy.htm 3 = https://iowaagliteracy.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/why-do-they-do-that-plowing-or-tilling-fields/

KerenHerran (talk) 02:29, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  • Your proposed section goes too much into other subjects (this is the Soybean article, specifically). If you can write some text that talks about the environmental harm of soybeans then that would be fine here. Invasive Spices (talk) 19:04, 14 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional Details for Section 6 (Production) Part 1 (Environmental issues)

This page needs more context on how changes in global economy impacts soy production, thereby also influencing environmental issues. Although the paragraph for "Environmental issues" elaborates on how the soybean industry has impacted deforestation, the discussion is disconnected from recognizing how global economies drive this. Therefore, I suggest adding the following paragraph below the current paragraph in Section 6.1 =

The US-China trade war has driven China to avoid negotiating with the US for soybean trade and turn to Brazil, investing in Brazilian infrastructure (like roads and railways) and agricultural development (such as destroying rainforests to start soy farms) for access to soy in order to bypass US tariff conflict. For instance, whereas in 2017 China imported approximately $8 billion of soybeans, in 2019, China imported only about $2 billion worth of soybeans from the US [1, 2].

KerenHerran (talk) 15:34, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional Details for Section 7 (History) Intro

This article lacks details on which countries are the major importers of soy. The introduction paragraph in this section describes which countries are the major producers, but does not provide readers with an understanding of which countries are the main consumers. Therefore, the page needs additional details to complete a balanced overview of key stakeholders in soy trade. The following sentences should be added to Sections 7's introduction paragraph =

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity’s 2019 data, China imports more than half of all traded soy, about 58.2%. The second and third greatest importer countries would be Mexico and the Netherlands respectively. At a continent level, Asia imported $2.75 billion soybeans in 2019, Europe imported $6.97 billion, North America imported $2.78 billion, South America imported $1.38 billion, and Africa imported $1.73 billion [1].

1 = https://oec.world/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/import/show/all/21201/2019/

KerenHerran (talk) 18:42, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional Details for Section 8 (Genetic Modification)

This page needs more context on the impacts of genetic modification and Monsanto soybean products. The only ramification discussed in this section is a general mentioning of biodiversity loss. By adding this suggested paragraph, between the article's current first and second paragraph, understanding of the implications of genetic modifications, specifically as it pertains to Monsanto seeds and herbicides, will be enhanced =

In other words, weeds that grow in soybean fields compete with soybean plants for sunlight, water, and soil, reducing overall soy crop yield. However, spraying harsh chemicals to kill weeds can also kill the soybean crops a farmer is trying to grow. Therefore, Monsanto’s herbicide “Round-Up” is meant to be applied on their brand of genetically modified soybean such that weeds are killed without killing the soybeans. Unfortunately, one of the types of weeds killed by Monsanto’s herbicide is milkweed, the only plant that Monarch caterpillars eat and that Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on. In fact, since 1999, the Midwest United States has lost 99% of its milkweed and the Monarch butterfly’s population has fallen by 90% across the US [1]. Another ethical issue with the use of Monsanto herbicides is that before commercial sale, these herbicides are tested in Puerto Rico, where testing regulation is loose. This has led to Puerto Rican residents near Monsanto’s soybean testing plants to develop skin irritations, migraines, and increased susceptibility to cancer [2]. Some farmers who developed cancer after using Round-Up have taken legal action against Monsanto, since Round-Up contains glyphosate, a group 2a carcinogen [3]. Recently, another herbicide Monsanto has been promoting, Dicamba, which has also been associated with increased cancer rate ratios [4], was ruled illegal within the U.S. given the pesticide’s high propensity to evaporate and drift to nearby crops [5].

KerenHerran (talk) 18:42, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  • As above, your proposed section goes too much into other subjects (this is the Soybean article, specifically) and your cite #4 is to another WP article, which we aren't supposed to cite. If you can write some text that talks about the environmental harm of soybeans then that would be fine here. Invasive Spices (talk) 18:55, 14 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional information in Environmental Issues (under Production)

This section needs clarification on how soybean cultivation for human uses compares to cultivation for livestock feed. It also needs information on other human uses besides oils, as it isn't only used for oils. My proposed changes are making deforestation its own subsection and an addition to the end of that paragraph. It would read:

Deforestation In spite of the Amazon "Soy Moratorium", soy production continues to play a significant role in deforestation when its indirect impacts are taken into account, as land used to grow soy continues to increase. This land either comes from pasture land (which increasingly supplants forested areas), or areas outside the Amazon not covered by the moratorium, such as the Cerrado region. In Brazil, Roughly one-fifth of deforestation can be attributed to expanding land use to produce oilseeds, primarily for soy and palm oil, whereas the expansion of beef production accounts for 41%. The main driver of deforestation is the global demand for meat, which in turn requires huge tracts of land to grow feed crops for livestock.[68] Around 80% of the global soybean crop is used to feed livestock.[69] Human consumption of soy products is much more sustainable and uses fewer natural resources than consumption of meat. For a given amount of protein, meat production takes 6 to 17 times more land, 4.4 to 26 times more water, and 6 to 20 times more fossil fuel use to produce than a soy-based product.1


1 = https://www.ecologic.eu/16618

RachelK2022 (talk) 02:02, 15 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional sections in Environmental Issues (under Production)

This section needs to include additional environmental issues besides deforestation. I propose adding subsections for biodiversity loss and water use, and adding information on each. The changes would read:

Biodiversity Besides deforestation for soy production, soy production causes a loss of global biodiversity through harm done by herbicides. Monsanto’s popular brand of seed named “Roundup Ready” is useful in that it is unaffected by glyphosate herbicides. When farmers apply this herbicide to soy crops, it creates runoff that kills native plants like Milkweed, a critical habitat for the Monarch Butterfly. The midwestern United States’ increased use of these herbicides has caused a 90% decline in Monarch butterflies in a span of 20 years.[2] This herbicide spraying also threatens many other plants like wildflowers.

Water use From 1996 to 2005, soybean production accounted for about 5% of global agricultural water use, the fifth largest among major crops.[3]


2 = http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/monarchs-in-peril-one-pager--copy_82788.pdf?_ga=2.33986785.131460174.1618570923-547327032.1618570923 3 = https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report47-WaterFootprintCrops-Vol1.pdf

RachelK2022 (talk) 02:08, 15 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Additional information in Uses (under Cultivation)

This section needs more specific information on the "large variety of processed foods" soy is used for. I propose adding an additional sentence at the end of the first paragraph. The paragraph would read:

Soybeans are a globally important crop, providing oil and protein. In the United States, the bulk of the harvest is solvent-extracted with hexane, and the "toasted" defatted soymeal (50% protein) then makes possible the raising of farm animals (e.g. chicken, hog, turkey) on a large industrial scale. Soybean products are also used in a large variety of processed foods. Oil from soybeans is incorporated into about 50% of processed foods for humans, in addition to being consumed directly in foods such as tofu, soy milk and tempeh. A small amount is used in Industry as biodiesel and lubricants.[4]

4 = https://ourworldindata.org/soy#which-countries-produce-the-most-soy

RachelK2022 (talk) 02:18, 15 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Possible plagiarism

Some of this article looks to have plagiarized from the following.

https://www.vqronline.org/essay/soy-amazon

Dolorite (talk) 08:55, 11 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]

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