Soy Ink - Disadvantages

Disadvantages

Soy ink is not suitable for all situations. For example, it cannot be used in ballpoint pens and personal printers or odour and taint sensitive applications such as inks for food packaging. A major problem with soy ink is that it takes more time to dry than petroleum-based inks, due to its lack of evaporative solvents in the form of VOCs. This creates challenges for some printing presses, especially those that use coated papers (such as magazines) instead of porous, uncoated paper (such as newspapers) where the ink can dry via absorption or IR in-line heaters. Current studies into UV-reactive ink curing are being conducted by many ink producers, most prominently the Flint Group. This process dries much faster, is cheaper, uses less energy, and emits no VOCs. This requires a significant equipment change and has not been scaled down to consumer size as of 2006.

Friends of the Earth International statement – 22 April 2008 The only responsible soy is less soy

Friends of the Earth International1 strongly rejects the current process of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS). The Roundtable completely fails to address the major social and environmental impacts of industrial-scale soy cultivation and frustrates real solutions. Certification provides a façade of sustainability for multinationals and agribusinesses which control the production, finance, trade, processing and marketing of soy products as well as for major oil and agrofuel companies such as Shell and British Petroleum. Impacts of soy monocultures. The most serious problems caused by soy monocultures are linked to their continued expansion:  Conversion of forests and savannahs and related loss of biodiversity, climate change through land-use changes, fertiliser use and NOX emissions, disruption of surface and ground water and rainfall patterns.  Social problems such as land conflicts and human rights violations, loss of livelihoods, poisoning and expulsion of rural communities, small farmers and indigenous peoples.  Forced displacement of the local population into cities and undisturbed natural areas, increasing concentration of land, and related rural unemployment, poverty and malnutrition.  Displacement of existing agriculture (particularly cattle ranching and small holder agriculture) to unexploited and vulnerable primary forests and savannahs.  Rising food prices and loss of food security and sovereignty due to displacement of staple food crops and increasing corporate control over food production. Expansion of soy monocultures to supply the growing markets for cheap animal feed and agrofuels intensifies the already well-documented problems caused by existing plantations; pollution and severe health problems in the local population due to the massive use of agrochemicals, soil erosion, low employment and slavery like conditions on industrial farms. Thousands of small farmers, who cannot compete with large producers in an increasingly globalised market, have been driven out of employment.