Participants at the Dubai International Aid and Humanitarian Development Conference learn about how ASA/WISHH partnered with Edesia Nutrition to develop a new food for global food security programs that uses 25% more U.S. soy.

Each April marks Soy Foods Month. April 2023 finds ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health partnering on important work with Edesia Nutrition to demonstrate the benefits of 25% more soy protein in Edesia’s product, which is designed to deliver sustainable nutrition for global food security.

In December 2021, WISHH convened a global food security dialogue in Rhode Island, home to Edesia Nutrition. U.S. soybean growers witnessed the important contributions their crop made to Edesia’s protein-packed foods, which are used to respond to malnutrition in more than 60 countries. The U.S. Agency for International Development and many other organizations purchase and distribute these Ready-to-Use Supplementary Foods (RUSF) and Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods.

Building on the United Soybean Board-supported dialogue and tour of Edesia, WISHH took the next steps to lead action aimed at addressing global food security by tapping U.S. soy’s value as a protein powerhouse. USB is funding WISHH’s work with Edesia on a product that contains 25% more soy flour than earlier formulations. Adding more soy allows Edesia to reach more people, thanks to the RUSF being more cost effective than other ingredients.

“WISHH’s work with this nourishing product fits with our strategic plan to deliver sustainable soy solutions to every life, every day,” says USB Director Dawn Scheier, one of the soybean farmers who traveled to Rhode Island. “What better way to commemorate Soy Foods Month than to build an even greater role for U.S. soy in global food security.”

“We can all be proud that U.S. soy is a powerhouse crop for global food security and human nutrition in general,” adds WISHH Chair and ASA Director Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare, who also attended the WISHH program at Edesia. “World food prices hit a record high in 2022, which reinforced the importance of U.S. soy’s ability to deliver affordable and available food and feed around the globe. While simultaneously working on trade and development, WISHH leads U.S. soy action for global food security, and that also contributes to productive and stable economies.”

Demand is high for the Edesia product. A July 2022 USAID announcement led Edesia to project its use of U.S. soy protein might double, up from 190,000-bushel equivalent.

USB funding not only supported WISHH’s work in development of the new soy formulation; it also sponsored Edesia’s participation in the Dubai International Aid and Humanitarian Development Conference in March. Edesia will feature the product at an upcoming USAID conference in Washington, D.C.

WISHH is a program of the American Soybean Association and is funded in part by the United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs.