Our diet of destruction

Huge areas of the Amazon rainforest are being cut down to satisfy global demand for soya. But how did this crop and a handful of others come to dominate our diet so completely? In an extract from her new book, Felicity Lawrence investigates the faceless trading giants who really decide what goes on our plates

Grain mountain

With an overabundance of wheat and a shortage of rail cars, the Cargill grain elevator was dumping grain on the ground. Photograph: AP Photo/Monty Davis

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Felicity Lawrence on how crops like soya came to dominate our diet

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk at 00.01 BST on Monday June 16 2008. It appeared in the Guardian on Monday June 16 2008 on p4 of the Comment & features section. It was last updated at 12.48 BST on Tuesday July 15 2008.

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