Where have all the soybeans gone?

September 1, 2022 2:25 PM

In the past year, I've noticed three local grocery chains have gone from about 90% of their non-dairy milk products being soy based, to about 90% being not-soy based.

I've also noticed that frozen edamame (soybeans) both in shells or shelled are very hard to find.

This is in Southern California, USA.

Two questions:
1. is there a soybean shortage? is this even possible?
2. I've been drinking soymilk for years and love it. I'm skepitcal of other plant-based milks, but maybe I should branch out. Any recommendations? I prefer full-fat, unsweetened soymilk.

posted by soylent00FF00 to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

There actually is a slight soybean shortage right now, but in my experience if supermarkets carry something and can’t get it, they don’t fill the shelves with other stuff. I think it’s likelier that there’s a lot of different plant-based milks available these days and so the shelf space afforded to soy milk has shrunk.
posted by rhymedirective at 2:43 PM on September 1, 2022 [7 favorites]

Yeah, a lot of people really *don't* like the taste of soy milk, and other plant based milks have become trendy so it makes more sense to stock them in higher quantities. Soy milk is kind of yesterday's news - I think anyone who would consider buying it already is buying it - whereas pea-based milk or oat milk is still a growing market where stores may be able to sell it to people who weren't previously buying any plant-based milks.
posted by potrzebie at 2:48 PM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

I think demand for soy milk has been suppressed by the other options available. I feel like oat milk is everywhere now. Our local coffee chain doesn't offer soy milk anymore and so I have get coconut milk now.
posted by soelo at 2:49 PM on September 1, 2022 [4 favorites]

I’m a soy milk drinker and have been noticing other plant milks having a larger shelf share for years. I think it’s just not the preferred alternative anymore. I know a lot of people who drink plant milks but I’m the only one who drinks soy. Not sure if there’s any shortage.

I do also like oat milk (but it doesn’t have enough protein for me). Ripple and Silk Next Milk are also tasty, and better in the protein department, but too cashy for me.
posted by obfuscation at 2:50 PM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

Can’t speak to the disappearance of soy, but Silk’s next milk is heaven.
posted by missmary6 at 2:54 PM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I can’t help with your first question, but I’m a big unsweetened soy milk drinker and the only other milk alternatives I’ve liked are unsweetened flax milk (Good Karma brand) and unsweetened hemp milk (Pacific Foods brand). I personally haven’t liked oat milk or coconut milk or almond milk or NotMilk or or or…. Can’t remember, but I’ve tried a lot.

On preview, I haven’t tried Next milk so it’s on the list if they make an unsweetened version.
posted by SomethinsWrong at 3:04 PM on September 1, 2022

I prefer oat milk for taste reasons, but I have also learnt that it is better for the planet.
We eat a lot of legumes in our food, so have no need for soy in the milk for protein, but I understand if you don't feel that way. Can you find tofu?
posted by mumimor at 3:05 PM on September 1, 2022

We keep a carton of oat milk in our pantry so that if we run out of regular milk we have something to tide us over until we go grocery shopping. We like it better than soy or almond and it uses much less water to make as well.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:31 PM on September 1, 2022

I personally prefer oat milk to other alt-milks out there, and to dairy milks. I think the texture of oat milk is the best in the alt-milk zone.

There's a pretty broad brush of 'oat milks that are bad, and oat milks that are good.' Some are just oats soaked in water, and others are made through enzymatic processes. The latter tends to be better, and its hard to actually tell how each type is made without just trying them. It bums me out that the proprietary process behind Oatly is the best there is flavor and texture wise; the company is kind of problematic (not more or less than any other large company I guess; but they also have had some quality issues lately with food safety).

I also tend to find that "Barista series" or alt milks made specifically for coffee-cafes are better than the ones sold retail. Ghost Town Oats is by far my favorite on just flavor and texture scales, after Oatly. But the only really do wholesale, so kinda hard to get your grubbies on right now.
posted by furnace.heart at 4:41 PM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm having trouble getting soy milk here in the midwest. Trader Joe's, my source for years, has intermittently stopped and then started again. They blame it on the suppliers. It's a real problem as I like it a lot, it has protein which I need, and my wife wants it for soy latte. I am p****d off about not being able to get it. I've been using almond milk which is in the same price range and tastes alright but I think it is bad for the environment and almond trees require huge amounts of water (I think).
posted by charlesminus at 4:50 PM on September 1, 2022

If you have an Instant Pot and some time, you can make fresh soy milk pretty easily. Other nut milks are easy with a strong blender. But yeah, soy is losing market share for whatever reason.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:08 PM on September 1, 2022

Another oat milk convert (partly because I can get a 6-pack at Costco instead of 8 or 10 gigantic pack). But also, oats have lots of great benefits.
posted by Glinn at 5:53 PM on September 1, 2022

I have also noticed the decline in soy milk availability and it makes me sad! I use it for baking and there really isn’t anything that seems to match it in terms of texture (and the flavor doesn’t matter to me). In particular, I often curdle the milk with some cider vinegar and other alt-milks don’t come out as creamy. Could just be I’m scared of change and maybe it’s time for me to try some new-fangled milk again!
posted by Brassica oleracea at 6:15 PM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I don’t know about shortages, but I agree that peoples tastes seem to be moving to the other plant milks hence there availability on shelves. I have to get plain unsweetened soy milk shipped from Costco.
posted by gryphonlover at 7:06 PM on September 1, 2022

I'm in Ontario, Canada, and I've observed this lack of availability.

I like unsweetened soy milk (I'm an omnivore and I really like its taste and texture), but it's getting harder to find it, and, like others have anecdotally observed, the shelf space where it was in a variety of stores is now going to other alt-milks.

Some of the oat milk variants that are taking over are too sweet for my taste, and a bunch of the nut milks are weirdly thin to me. And I'm not always in the mood for coconut.

In short, I'm finding this lack of availability a bit annoying, and you're not alone.

And I like oats. Don't get me wrong. And I realize I'm highly privileged in the food choices I get to make.

But there's also a whole bunch of weird "SOY WILL KILL YOU" bullshit out there thanks to alt right (cf "soy boy")/alternative medicine/wellness bullshit.

I've never been a big "drink a glass of cow's milk" person, but soy milk fits that dietary pocket (glass of something with a bit of protein and fat, and maybe enriched, but not sugary, and that gives me a couple hundred calories and pairs with a banana or an orange or maybe a handful of nuts that I can have in the morning) just right.

Look, I just want some fuckin' soy milk without the goddamned lectures.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:45 PM on September 1, 2022 [8 favorites]

Wow. I'm drinking a glass of Silk unsweetened soy milk RIGHT NOW. (I agree that oat milks are a little cloying and that almond milk is just a glass of water with a couple of nuts waved over it.)

I'm not noticing any shortages of soy milk in my west end Toronto grocery stores (maybe the Junction is just on an estrogen kick), but there is definitely more space given to the other alt-milks than there used to be. But it does seem likely that soy milk is too out there for the normies, too Boomer for the kids, and too utterly terrifying for people who are convinced that they'll grow six breasts overnight after a single glass, so a decrease in demand plus any small supply chain issues may account for the changes you see in your region.
posted by maudlin at 8:21 PM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

FWIW, one plant-based milk company is advertising heavily on streaming services, so it's possible they're muscling the old guard off the shelves.
posted by credulous at 8:53 PM on September 1, 2022

Perhaps people don't want to use GMO products, and apparently "GMO soybeans made up 94% of all soybeans planted" in 2020?
posted by terrapin at 2:58 AM on September 2, 2022

Most of the soybeans grown in the US are fed to cattle - that's going to be most of the 94% of soybeans that are GMO. Soy products labeled as organic cannot be GMO, and most commercial soy milk is organic.

The propaganda against soy has been absurdly successful. Many people think it causes breast cancer, even though Japan, where much more soy is consumed, has some of the lowest rates of breast cancer in the world. I think that's one reason a lot of people think they should avoid soy milk.

I'm another unsweetened soy milk drinker. I haven't had trouble finding it - though I don't go into grocery stores, so I don't know what the shelves look like. I have been having trouble getting frozen shelled edamame though. This is in Michigan.
posted by FencingGal at 5:29 AM on September 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

If you can find dry soybeans, you can make your own soy milk with a soy milk maker. There are a few brands out there. They both grind the beans and cook the milk.
posted by Comet Bug at 8:57 AM on September 2, 2022

A few Vietnamese shops in my city make their own soy milk for sale, unsweetened and sweetened. It tastes really different from what's on American shelves, but it might be worth exploring on your area. It has a shorter shelf life than store stuff, but I bet it freezes ok.
posted by answergrape at 3:09 PM on September 2, 2022