Superb Soybeans

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So, where can you buy fresh, faster-cooking dry beans if you don't grow your own? We checked with several natural food distributors and the only company we found that could promise the bulk of their dried soybeans come from the most recent harvest was Eden Foods. They offer organic black soybeans and other beans in 25-pound bags—a bit more than one family might want, but you could split the bag between several households. You can contact Eden Foods at (888) 441-EDEN or www.eden-foods.com . — MOTHER

Genetically Engineered Soybeans

Soybeans are even more prominent in my thoughts these days, since so many farmers are growing genetically engineered (GE) soybeans developed by the Monsanto Company to withstand applications of their herbicide product Roundup (glyphosate). Roundup is the biggest-selling herbicide worldwide and basically kills any green living thing it touches. To my mind, there is a qualitative difference between a soybean with extra genes inserted to render it immune to such a powerful poison and the original soybean.

Although we don't know what transgenic soybeans and other GE crops will do to us or to the environment, we do know their introduction into the marketplace has been rapid and is virtually unregulated. More than 74 percent of cultivated soybeans in North America are "Roundup Ready" and about 60 percent of food products contain processed soybeans. These GE foods are not labeled and the North American public is being denied the right to know which foods contain GE products. If you're buying soybeans or other soy products, those labeled 'Certified Organic' will be GE-free (although there is growing controversy about the problem of contamination of organic and other non-GE crops by pollen from neighboring GE plants).

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