It was not until the 1940s that industry worked out how to deactivate the enzyme inhibitor in the protein meal sufficiently for animals to tolerate it, and it was only technology taken from the Nazis at the end of World War II that solved the problem of the oil's horrible smell and flavor. That left the way for the US to promote the soya that suited its agricultural conditions as part of the reconstruction of Europe through the 1950s.
Soya oil exports to Europe tripled under the Marshall Plan, and heavily subsidized exports of surplus US soya ensured the commodity's dominance in animal feed. The subsidies continue. Between 1998 and 2004, US Department of Agriculture figures show that its soya farming received US$13 billion in subsidies from the US taxpayer.
Until 2003, the US was the largest exporter of soya. But through the 1990s, multinationals promoted the expansion of the crop in Latin America, helping finance farmers and building the infrastructure for soya exports. The attraction of Latin America is that land is cheap and labor costs are minimal. Three years ago, the combined exports from Brazil and Argentina surpassed US exports for the first time. The cost is now being counted there in environmental damage and social upheaval. The cost to Western consumers may yet be counted in health.
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