Large scale mono-culture production of agricultural products in developing countries is a focus of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and World Bank. The IMF and World Bank hold leverage over the economies in the global south through their control of debts. Their Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP), set up as "debt relief" programs, are mostly achieved by forcing countries to convert to and sell their agricultural raw materials in bulk – with the devastating consequences for people and the environment, as has been described in this brochure.

The growth of soy production, trade, and use is the result of a deliberate trade policy. In 1962, as result of the 'Dillan Round' of the GATT (the predecessor of the WTO), the US and Europe agreed on a ban on import taxes of oil-containing crops (like soy). At that time the US was the main exporter. The other side of the agreement was that Europe would be allowed to subsidise its production of grains. For European factory farmers, this meant access to cheap proteins (from imported soy) and cheap carbohydrates (from subsidised grains), the two ingredients of a fast growing piece of meat.

Production of soy worldwide has, in the past three decades, grown from 55 million tonnes (1975) to 223 million tones in 2006, a growth of 324%. The demand made a sudden jump in the 1990's when bones and other leftovers from the meat industry were no longer allowed to be used as a protein source in animal feed. A third of today's soy harvest comes from South America, while the US is still one of the world’s largest soy producer. But while the US mostly uses its soy for its own meat production, countries in South America export theirs' to Europe and China.