June 24, 1999

A report to be published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods claims that Roundup Ready soybeans may have reduced levels of isoflavones, nutritional components of soybeans. That's not unusual, says the American Soybean Association: the isoflavone content of soybeans varies, and experts already know that.

A posted abstract of a study to be published in the JMF claims the implications for isoflavones are meaningful, because isoflavones are potentially beneficial nutritional components of soybeans. But the isoflavone components in soybeans are highly variable and well characterized in scientific literature, says ASA. The natural variability is similar to the variability of micronutrients in any crop and is influenced greatly by environmental factors.

A study published in 1996 in the Journal of Nutrition found that the isoflavone content of conventional soybeans versus Roundup Ready soybeans is comparable, said ASA. Roundup Ready soybeans "are characterized as the most studied soybean ever grown by farmers and were reviewed for equivalency by the Food and Drug Administration and other global agencies around the world."