No, we certainly don’t take better care of CAFO animals, including pigs, than we do people; however, sometimes it almost seems that way.  Scientists at the University of Illinois have discovered that fermented soybean meal (FSBM) allows pigs to better digest the phosphorus in the meal.  All I can say is why did it take so long to figure that out?  Soy wasn’t eaten as food in Asia until the Chinese learned to ferment it as natto, miso, and tamari about 2 to 3 thousand years ago. Fermented tempeh came later, about 200 years ago. Chinese people haven’t traditionally eaten much soy; it’s mostly used as a condiment.  Only in recent times have we so completely abandoned traditional, healthy foods that many people now eat large amounts of soy that has not been properly prepared by fermentation.

The scientists found that the pigs digest the phosphorus better in the fermented soy because the fermentation process releases the phosphorus from the phytate molecule.  One professor said “Most of the P [phosphorus] in soybean meal is bound to phytate, so it’s not available to pigs.”  The phosphorus in the fermented meal has a 65.5% digestibility compared to 46.1 % in conventional soybean meal.  This is something the Chinese people have known for thousands of years (maybe not the exact percentages), but at least our scientists are finally learning about phytates.  Of course, their conclusion is that it will save farmers money because they will not need to buy as much supplemental phosphorus if they use the fermented meal.  There appears to be no concern about making the pigs healthier.

It is interesting that farmers consider it cost effective to ensure that pigs get enough phosphorus by fermenting their soy or through supplementation, but no one seems very concerned that people eating unfermented soy are also being deprived of necessary nutrients.  Have you seen any warning on soy products that the buyer should take supplements to make up for the unavailable minerals?  I haven’t!  By the way, earlier research by the same group of scientists found that fermenting corn also allows easier digestion of phosphorus for pigs. If they plan to do this type of research one mineral in one food for one animal at a time, it sure will take a long time for them to determine that fermentation usually increases the nutrient availability of foods.  Will research for people come after they’ve finished research on all the animals?  Or will it ever come?

Although this report doesn’t mention it, the phytate in soy binds other minerals as well as phosphorus, including calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc.  Don’t pigs need these minerals too?  Even if pigs don’t, people do.  Another major problem with soy, both fermented and conventional, is that over 90% of soy in the US is genetically engineered.  GE foods have been implicated in animal studies as causing significant health problems, including organ damage and reproductive problems. There are many other problems with soy, some of which I mention in my post on fake meats, which are often, but not always, made from unfermented soy: Demand for FAKE meats is growing; why not eat REAL meat?

Sources:

Meeting pigs’ phosphorous requirements with fermented soybean meal
Soy Alert!, The Weston A. Price Foundation

You might also want to read:

Study finds that GE toxins damage human cells
It’s Not Pretty Behind the Biotech Veil, an Interview with Howard Vlieger
What Does Genetically Engineered (or GMO) Mean?