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RTRS retail members, who include most of the leading UK supermarkets, aim to work with soy producers to purchase certified responsible soy. Soy is used in many household staples such as margarines, spreads and cooking oils, as well as being the main source of protein of livestock feeds.

In further good news from the RTRS conference, RT7, state-linked Chinese Soybean Industry Association (CSIA) has announced that it will be working with its 750 member organisations to meet RTRS standards.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Liu Dengao, CSIA Vice President, pledged to promote responsible soy to Chinese policy makers, while setting up a number of pilot projects in the Northeast, the Yellow River region and South China to establish RTRS recognised production, processing and trading systems.

The CSIA will also work with global soybean industry associations to expand soybean trade according to World Trade Organisation principles while educating the Chinese soybean industry on ecological conservation, food safety and basic rights for soybean farmers.

China was announced as the host of next year’s RT8 conference.

Speaking at the close of RT7, RTRS President Jaap Oskam said they had made great strides to increasing global demand and supply of responsible soy.

Mr Oskam said: “This conference has seen a growing commitment to transforming the market towards a more responsible one. We applaud the determination of RTRS members, in particular EU and UK retailers and the CSIA to commit to the process.”

The decisions came amongst concerns that the soy industry has to meet the challenge of feeding the world’s rapidly growing population while still protecting vital natural resources.

The conference was attended by over 200 soy industry representatives making it the largest ever held by the RTRS since it was created as the Responsible Soy Forum in 2004.

The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) is an international multi-stakeholder initiative founded in 2006 that promotes the use and growth of responsible production of soy, through the commitment of the main stakeholders of the soy value chain and through a global standard for responsible production.

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