Today, the first Flemish soy for human consumption has been harvested. The cultivation is the result of 4 years of scientific research into the possibilities of soy cultivation in our climate. The project has been made possible thanks to the successful cooperation between Alpro, AVEVE, the Institute for Research into Agriculture, Fishing and Food (ILVO), the Department for Agriculture and Fishing and a couple of pioneering Flemish farmers.
Greet Vanderheyden, Sustainable Development Manager at Alpro, explains: “Alpro is pleased with the first commercial harvest of Flemish soybeans. These will soon be processed in our factory in Wevelgem into plant-based food. Today, already more than half of our soy comes from Europe. Flemish soy production is a crucial step towards more cooperation with Flemish farmers and an even smaller ecological footprint and fits within our strategic choice for non-genetically modified soybeans. Also in the Netherlands, we expect the harvest of the first locally grown soy within the very near future.”