The Landworkers’ Alliance has released a new film ‘Soy No More’, which explores agroecological alternatives to soy-based pig and poultry feed.
The short film, produced in collaboration with Hodmedods and Stezzo Films, shines a light on the pioneering work that farmers in East Anglia are doing to produce agroecological alternatives to soy-based animal feed.
The film is part of the Landworkers’ Alliance’s Soy No More campaign, and follows on from the release of their 2023 report, which looked at the detrimental impact soy production is having on the Amazon and modelled different scenarios for eliminating soy from pig and poultry feed mixes in the UK.
The report explored the impact that replacing soy in pig and poultry diets in the UK would have on land-use in the UK, and looked at what might be possible if current UK cropland area was prioritised for growing pulses for human consumption, and pigs and poultry were fed on the byproducts from this pulse production, as well as food waste inedible for humans.
The farmers in this film are doing exactly this.
Mike Mallet at Maple Farm in Suffolk sources, processes and mixes his own feed for his flock of 2,000 heritage breed chickens. He uses midds from his own wheat mill, as well as by-products from locally grown pulses. Mallet works closely with East Anglian pulse pioneers, Hodmedods, to provide a more valuable use for the co-products and by-products from their pulse processing, by using them in his feed mix.
Mallet processes feed for other farmers, too, such as Chris Howes and Lou-Bishop Howes from Edfords Farm and Butchery in Suffolk, who feature in the film. In the film we also meet Stuart and Rebecca Mayhew from Old Hall Farm in Norfolk who run a completely soy-free cow and calf dairy, as well as keep soy-free pigs and chickens.
Read the Soy No More report here
Listen to our podcast interview with Hodmedods founder, Josiah Meldrum