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First U.S. Food For Peace Purchase of Defatted Soy Flour
Leaves Cedar Rapids for African Mothers and Children
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URBANDALE,
Iowa - Starting yesterday, 150 metric tons of defatted
U.S. soy flour – enough to provide 5 million servings of
protein – was flowing into bags emblazoned with the American
flag at the Cargill Cedar Rapids facility.
This massive shipment of defatted soy flour is the first ever
purchased under the U.S. Food for Peace Program. It is destined
for the West African nation of Burkina Faso, which is 5,000 miles
from Iowa. Once the soy flour arrives in September, the non-profit
organization Africare will use it to boost the nutrition of severely
malnourished mothers and children at the provincial hospital and
a rural health clinic in Zondoma, Burkina Faso. Africare will
also use some of the defatted soy flour to help people living
with HIV/AIDS.
The U.S. Food for Peace Program has made friends for America and
fed millions throughout the world since 1954, when President Eisenhower
signed it into law. The story of how America’s first shipment
of U.S. defatted soy flour for this program came about is an example
of cooperation between U.S. soybean farmers, the U.S. soy processing
industry, Africare and the federal government.
“Without everyone’s dedication, Africare’s request
for the high-protein soy would not have been fulfilled,”
says Jim Hershey, director of the World Initiative for Soy in
Human Health (WISHH) program that Iowa, Illinois and other state
soybean organizations launched in 2000.
Africare was eager to find foods that would bolster the well-being
of severely malnourished infants and children who cannot benefit
from rehabilitation programs offered at the village level. These
infants and children are referred to the care of the state-run
nutrition rehabilitation center at the provincial hospital. WISHH
worked with Africare on possible dietary solutions and found that
defatted soy flour’s high protein and other nutrients can
be incorporated readily into foods already popular with Africans.
Defatted soy flour is made by reducing the fat content of the
soy flour to 1 percent fat. The resulting defatted soy flour offers
about 52 percent protein and can readily boost the protein content
of a wide array of foods around the world. Therefore, Africare
requested defatted soy flour in its proposal to the Food for Peace
Program, managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID).
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Denny Friest, Gregg Nelson
and Roy Arends
Machine fills bags
with soy flour
USAID packaging |
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After USAID
approved Africare’s proposal, a new government requirement
for how products are bagged came into effect. The federal government
required tougher bag that can withstand the elements, including
wet weather, for three to six months. They also expected adherence
to new marketing requirements, including a new brand mark and tag
line identifying the contents as a gift from the American people.
Africare had a negative experience with changes in bag quality for
other food products in the past. Those problems lasted for more
than a year. “When we heard there were bagging issues, we
had a very bad déjà vu,” says Africare’s
Harold Tarver. “Without WISHH, we might still be waiting.”
WISHH quickly contacted industry representatives and had discussions
with USDA employees about how the problem could be resolved. “Jim
Hershey and WISHH used their knowledge of the government to help,”
says Cargill Texturizing Solutions Market Manager Gregg Nelson who
is based in Cedar Rapids. “Cargill was pleased.
With input from USAID and the Department of Agriculture, Cargill
and other soy processors agreed to develop new bags that would withstand
the severe conditions often encountered by food aid shippers. They
also moved ahead on the governments requests for signage on the
bags.
Africare and WISHH also collaborated to make sure the product is
programmed for maximum impact for its intended beneficiaries. The
National Soybean Research Laboratory in Illinois has given Africare
several recipes incorporating defatted soy flour into foods that
are already preferred in Burkina Faso. Training on how to prepare
the foods will follow. WISHH will also provide ongoing assistance
to Africare as it reviews the nutritional impact of these foods,
including for mothers and children who have HIV/AIDS.
Roy Arends, director for the Iowa Soybean Association (ASA) and
grower near Alexander, Iowa, says short-term, the efforts of WISHH
provide much-needed protein for people in Third World countries.
“Long-term, it’s going to promote more soybean usage
and build goodwill relationships. Because of this, we have the potential
to ship more soybeans. It’s a great, long-term marketing opportunity.”
Denny Friest, chairman for WISHH and grower near Radcliffe, Iowa,
agrees. “It’s a way to supply economical protein to
people that can’t afford it. It’s an opportunity for
us to cooperate in the distribution of our protein to the needy
people of the world.”
And these humanitarian efforts also promote U.S. soybeans. “It
opens doors for new markets,” Friest says. “Once people
see the value in soybean protein, it will be a lot easier for us
to expand marketing needs to other people in the world.”
WISHH is headquartered at ASA in St. Louis, and it creates sustainable
solutions for the protein demands of people in developing countries
through the introduction and use of U.S. soy products. WISHH has
worked in 23 countries, ranging from Africa to Asia to Latin America,
to improve diets as well as encourage growth of food industries.
For more information about WISHH, please visit www.wishh.org.
For more information, contact: Karen Edwards, World Initiative for
Soy in Human Health 703-281-7600. For more information about Africare,
go to www.africare.org.
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The Iowa
Soybean Association develops policies and programs that help farmers
expand profit opportunities while promoting environmentally sensitive
production using the soybean checkoff and other resources. The Association
is governed by an elected volunteer board of 21 farmers.
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Funded by
soybean checkoff dollars.
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