WISHH Ambassador
April 2010
The American Soybean Association's World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) program offers exciting updates on the world of soy nutrition and global development. For your convenience, this newsletter offers live links to useful resources.
USDA Selects WISHH & Partners for Work in Afghanistan
 Afghan children’s faces went from sick to normal in a month after Nutrition and Education International added soy foods to their diets. Photo credit: NEI |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected WISHH and three partnering organizations to implement an estimated $26 million project in Afghanistan. The USDA Food for Progress project will bring the strengths of soy protein to fight some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world, as well as help reconstruct Afghanistan’s food industry.
"We are excited to help Afghan farmers rebuild their infrastructure while we make healthy food available to their fellow citizens and to build a market for soy," said WISHH Chairman and ASA Board member Scott Fritz, a soybean producer from Winamac, Ind. "Diets will improve and soy consumption will increase as Afghan agriculture and the local economy develops. When this happens, everybody wins."
The three-year project will allow WISHH to launch its first extended effort in Afghanistan. Joining WISHH on the project are: Shelter for Life International, which is headquartered in Minnesota; California-based Nutrition and Education International Inc. (NEI), and CBI Global located in Ohio. Read the Press Release.
Global Food Security Leaders Join WISHH at Washington Conference
 USDA Coordinator for Global Food Security Ann Tutwiler provided Conference attendees with an update on the U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative that is designed to sustainably reduce global poverty and hunger. |
More than 100 government officials, global development and food industry leaders as well as farmers joined WISHH and the World Soy Foundation for their Washington, D.C. Conference on March 18. "Food Security: Addressing Availability, Access and Utilization in Developing Countries" was the primary topic.
Speakers at the program included: USDA Coordinator for Global Food Security Ann Tutwiler, State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Trade Policy and Programs William Craft as well as representatives of the Gates Foundation and many other international development organizations. Sponsors for the WISHH-World Soy Foundation Washington Conference are: Cargill--gold level; Solae—silver level; Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Monsanto and the Monsanto Fund—bronze level. Qualified State Soybean Boards from across the country also support the program.
Review the Presentations from the Conference.
Illinois Soybean Association CEO Honored at WISHH Washington Conference
 From left: Illinois soybean growers Steve Scates and Sharon Covert, Lyle Roberts and Alliance for Global Food Security Executive Director Ellen Levinson. |
WISHH hosted a surprise tribute to Illinois Soybean Association CEO Lyle Roberts as part of the Washington Conference where attendees represented the types of organizations and individuals that Roberts rallied more than a decade ago. As a result, the WISHH Program was launched in 2000.
Illinois soybean leaders Steve Scates and Sharon Covert and Alliance for Global Food Security Executive Director Ellen Levinson saluted Roberts in person. WISHH also presented Roberts with a book containing letters from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Senator Richard Durbin and many others who praised Roberts for his vision and leadership.
"Successful programs are easy when you have a world of great people working with you," Roberts said after the presentation. "It has been exciting to plant the seeds for public-private partnerships though WISHH. These partnerships must continue to grow."
Review some of the letters recognizing Roberts
150 From Health and Industry Attend Rwanda Nutrition Conference
 Conference attendees examine soy products that can help Rwanda’s National Nutrition Policy efforts to fight protein malnutrition. |
Rwanda’s Minister of Health Richard Sezibera welcomed the more than 150 people attending the Food Fortification and Nutrition Solutions for Community Health Conference in Rwanda in February. WISHH partnered with the National Soybean Research Laboratory that organized the program that attracted seven food companies, representatives of 15 non-governmental organizations, government agencies as well as hospitals and schools. Also in attendance were industry representatives from dry beans, peas and lentils, Alaska seafood, peanuts, and soy fortified cereals.
The Rwandan National Nutrition Policy published in 2007 recognized the high levels of stunting resulting from protein malnutrition. The government looks to food fortification, among other approaches to address the problem. There is increasing interest in the use of soy or other commodities to address protein and micronutrients malnutrition around the world. Food fortification enhances the quality of food in protein and micronutrients. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Global Broad-Based Initiatives supported the program. See presentations from the program.
USDA-Supported Conference Focuses on Protein for Mozambique
WISHH’s Anita Florido provided details on soy protein and products at the "Achieving Sustainable Solutions: USA Protein Products & Local Agricultural Development" conference held in January in Maputo, Mozambique. The U.S. Department of Agriculture supported the conference that explored the benefits of U.S. soy protein products and ingredients—while at the same time building demand for locally grown African agricultural products. Over 75 Industry leaders, key decision makers, academia, and those involved in the value chain of high quality proteins provided information on agribusiness approaches and sustainable responses attended the conference. In addition to protein product information, the program provided information on standards and quality assurance.
USB Helps Feed Global Appetite for Soy Through WISHH
The United Soybean Board’s (USB) support for WISHH is helping build markets for soy around the globe. Through WISHH, USB has leveraged farmer dollars with U.S. Department of Agriculture programs as well as private industry support. Checkoff funds have aided WISHH in training developing country food industry representatives on how to integrate U.S. soy into their products. Last year alone, USB support aided WISHH in training employees from more than 100 companies and many received U.S. soy product samples.
 SoyGood products are now promoted on television, in supermarkets and more in Nigeria. United Soybean Board support of WISHH has helped WISHH support companies that offer products like SoyGood. |
USB support has contributed to WISHH’s cooperation with two Nigerian companies that launched soy milk drinks last year to help meet the growing demand for healthy foods in West Africa. WISHH-assisted companies are investing millions of their own funds to add equipment and infrastructure so they can make soy-fortified pasta noodles and more.
Soybean checkoff dollars have helped WISHH provide technical assistance and soy product samples to an African company that is in discussions with a U.S. soy supplier for its new plant that is opening this year. Likewise in Kenya, a range of companies are increasing their sales each year by adding textured soy protein to improve the nutrition in foods that are already popular in the region. In Ethiopia, a company is installing $1 million in food processing equipment to allow it to make soy-enriched foods that will be used to treat severely malnourished people.
More than 60 tons of value-added products were recently shipped by a U.S. company to WISHH contacts in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Until the 2009 earthquake, Haitian customers were buying approximately 50 tons a year of a textured soy protein for use in "puff pizzas" as a filling breakfast food. A WISHH/University of Illinois National Soybean Research Laboratory project had cultivated this market with Illinois soybean checkoff support.
WISHH Calendar of Events
June 6-11, 2010: Processing and Marketing Soybeans for Meat, Dairy and Baking Applications hosted by the University of Illinois International Soybean Program (INTSOY). See details about the Course
August 26-27, 2010: Soy Innovation Africa: Cultivating Potential in Emerging Market hosted by Soyatech, LLC, WISHH, and the National Soybean Research Laboratory at the Westin Grand Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. For more information or to register, call 800-424-SOYA (or 207-244-9544) or visit Soyatech's Conference Information. Special registration rates apply for delegates from Africa as well as members of Soy Southern Africa and the South African Association of Food Science and Technology. Soy Innovation Africa will be co-located with the 15th World Congress of Food Science and Technology (August 22-26, 2010 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre). See more information about that conference.
November 11, 2010: Soy Symposium 2010—Adapting to New Market Forces. The United Soybean Board and Soyfoods Association of North America are hosting this program at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, D.C. See details about the event.
Summer-Fall 2011: WISHH Midwest Workshop will not take place in 2010. Stay tuned for details on our plans for this educational program in summer or fall of 2011.
WISHH is headquartered at the American Soybean Association in St. Louis. Since America’s soybean farmers founded WISHH in 2000, WISHH has worked in 28 countries to improve diets as well as encourage growth of food industries.
