Soybean pods fill out in mid season growth, with healthy plants showing strong pod development. Image by Julio César García from Pixabay
Soybeans are among the most versatile crops in the world, showing up in foods ranging from whole‑bean dishes to everyday pantry staples. In Asian cuisines, people eat soy in forms such as edamame, roasted soy nuts, soy milk, tofu, tempeh, natto, miso, and soy sauce.
Western consumers encounter soy differently, often through ingredients woven into common foods: soybean oil, soy flour, soy protein concentrates and isolates, and soy‑derived lecithin. Soy also appears in plant‑based meats, protein powders, energy bars, and ready‑to‑eat meals.
But despite soy’s long‑standing reputation as a reliable, heart‑healthy ingredient, its very popularity has made it a target for online misinformation.
Kansas soybean growers are confronting a wave of online misinformation about seed oils and ultra‑processed foods, a trend that industry leaders say has real implications for consumer trust and long‑term market stability.
With April recognized as Soy Foods Month, the conversation is gaining urgency as farmers and nutrition experts highlight the value of soy foods and the importance of accurate information in a competitive food marketplace.
Sarah Alsager, Director of Communications and Outreach at the Soy Nutrition Institute Global, said the soy foods category remains a major driver of value for US soybeans. She noted that “about half the value of the US soybean oil goes into food, and food demand plays a really big role both here in the US and in export.”
She added that consumer confidence is central to the entire sector, explaining that “when soy has a strong reputation as a food, then that confidence really strengthens the entire soybean market.”
Alsager noted that soy is currently positioned at the center of several national nutrition debates, including discussions about seed oils, ultra‑processed foods, and even GLP‑1 medications (a class of prescription drugs that help regulate blood sugar and appetite).
She emphasized that these conversations can either build trust or erode it, depending on the accuracy of the information circulating online. At the same time, she sees opportunity, noting that Americans are actively seeking more protein sources and that soy “can deliver high-quality protein that supports heart health and overall health.”
For Kansas farmers, the stakes are significant. The state consistently ranks among the top 10 soybean‑producing states in the US, harvesting more than 190 million bushels in recent years and contributing billions to the regional economy.
Soybean oil alone represents roughly 20 percent of each bean, and about half of that oil goes directly into food uses—meaning consumer perception directly affects a measurable share of Kansas soybean demand.
Raylen Phelon owns and operates Phelon Farms, located in Melvern, Kansas, where he has been farming soybeans for about 60 years. In a recent interview with Farms.com, he explained that he has seen the effects of misinformation firsthand.
He said he periodically hears claims that soybean oil is unhealthy, even though “the American Heart Association and FDA have backed soybean oil as ‘Heart Healthy.’”
He also pointed out that soy oil is widely used in everyday foods ranging from salad dressings to baked goods, making it a foundational ingredient in the modern food system.
Phelon said online narratives about seed oils can create confusion among consumers, even if the impact is difficult to quantify at the farm level. Because oil accounts for 20 percent of each soybean, and half of that oil goes into food, he noted that “seed oil perception affects 10 percent of the demand for my crop.”
He also wished that more people understood the realities of soybean processing, especially concerns about hexane extraction. “What I wish they knew is, you get more hexane exposure from standing next to your car as you fuel it than you do from eating soybean oil!”
Hexane and Soybean Processing
Hexane is a petroleum derived solvent widely used in the food industry—especially for extracting oil from soybeans—because it pulls out oil with far greater efficiency than mechanical pressing.
It evaporates easily, doesn’t react with the food, and keeps production costs low. In soybean processing, the beans are cracked, flaked, washed with hexane to dissolve the oil, and then heated so the solvent evaporates and is recovered for reuse. The resulting crude oil is then refined, bleached, and deodorized, which removes additional traces.
Hexane first became a public-facing concern in the late 2000s, when advocacy groups began highlighting that the solvent was widely used in soybean oil extraction but never appeared on food labels. That early wave of scrutiny was driven by two things:
- occupational toxicology data showing that high inhalation exposure can cause neurological damage, and
- the realization that most consumers had no idea a petroleum‑derived solvent was part of the soybean supply chain. The issue resurfaced periodically whenever a study or investigation detected trace residues in refined oils or soy-based foods, even though those residues were consistently far below regulatory limits.
It has become an issue again now for a different reason: regulatory reassessment and political attention, especially in Europe. EFSA’s (European Food Safety Authority) last full safety evaluation was in 1996—30 years ago—and in 2024 the agency stated that existing data are insufficient for confidently assessing long‑term, low‑level dietary exposure—particularly for infants and children.
That triggered renewed calls for updated toxicology, tighter residue limits, or even phase‑outs. Some lawmakers in France have proposed bans or warning labels, and researchers have pushed for restrictions. This has created headlines and public concern, even though the detected residues remain within legal limits.
However, in the US, the FDA has not elevated hexane to a major food‑safety issue. The agency’s position remains grounded in exposure science: dietary residues are extremely low, hexane is almost entirely removed during refining, and the toxicological risks documented in workers do not translate to consumer exposure levels.
As a result, while Europe is re‑evaluating and debating policy, the US regulatory stance has stayed stable—hexane use is monitored but not considered a significant risk.
Seed Oils and the Ultra Processed Food Debate
Phelon also pushed back on the common conflation of seed oils with ultra‑processed foods, stating that seed oils are simply ingredients used in many products and should not be blamed for the health impacts of added sugars, sodium, or preservatives.
“To blame seed oils for the health problems those ingredients cause doesn’t make much sense,” he said.
Seed oils get pulled into the ultra‑processed food debate for one simple reason: they show up in a lot of ultra‑processed products, but they are not the thing that makes those foods unhealthy. The oils themselves—soybean, canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran—are just neutral‑flavoured, affordable fats extracted from seeds. They’re used in everything from home cooking to salad dressings to baked goods.
The confusion starts because these same oils are also used in chips, fast food, packaged snacks, frozen entrées, crackers, cereals, and other ultra‑processed foods, which are often high in added sugars, sodium, refined starches, preservatives, and heat‑damaged fats.
When people see seed oils on the ingredient list of foods that are already unhealthy for other reasons, they sometimes assume the oil is the culprit. But it’s important to note that the evidence doesn’t support that.
Multiple nutrition experts and major health organizations note that seed oils are not harmful on their own and do not drive inflammation in humans.
In fact, they’re a key source of linoleic acid, an essential omega‑6 fat linked to lower cardiovascular risk, lower stroke risk, and lower type 2 diabetes risk.
The misconception comes from two places:
- social‑media narratives claiming omega‑6 fats cause inflammation (current human evidence says they don’t), and,
- the fact that seed oils are refined, which leads some people to lump them in with “industrial” or “chemical” processing.
But the real health problems associated with ultra‑processed foods come from the overall nutrient profile and degree of processing, not from the presence of seed oils themselves. As one expert put it, seed oils are simply ingredients, not the drivers of the health issues linked to ultra‑processed diets.
Why Accurate Information Matters
Both Phelon and Alsager emphasized the importance of credible information and rapid response to misinformation.
Alsager said that Soy Nutrition Institute Global focuses on ensuring that health professionals, media, and food industry partners have access to evidence‑based research, adding that “misinformation can really impact demand.”
Phelon believes farmers themselves must play a role in public conversations about nutrition and food safety, and said that, “Farmers need to get involved, get the facts and tell the true story.”
As farmers look ahead, many see the need for continued investment in research, communication, and consumer education. Phelon, a fifth‑generation farmer, said he hopes future generations will continue the work of producing safe, sustainable soybeans for families in Kansas and around the world.
The Soy Nutrition Institute Global, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a scientific organization focused on advancing research, education, and evidence‑based communication about the health and nutritional benefits of soy. The institute works with health professionals, researchers, food companies, and soybean farmers to ensure accurate information reaches consumers and industry stakeholders. For more information, visit www.thesoynutritioninstitute.com.