Report shows biodiesel not increasing soyoil prices for food

In Missouri, grocery prices have increased 21% (from January 2020 to August 2022), and retail fat and oil prices have increased 30% — soybean oil being a key ingredient for frying, baking, margarine, cooking oils and salad dressings. Pair that with soy oil used for biofuel production, which has quadrupled over the past decade, and it’s no wonder soy oil is a hot topic right now. But a new study only adds to evidence that U.S.-grown soybeans are well suited for people looking to cook, fuel up or find other sustainable solutions.

The United Soybean Board partnered with Purdue University on a Food and Fuel study to evaluate whether the increased use of soybean oil in biofuels has contributed to the rising retail prices of food products for consumers.

One key element missing from this equation is that only one-fifth of the soybean is oil: the vast majority of the soybean is meal used as a high-quality protein in animal diets. This expanded crush for oil to meet biofuel demand creates increased availability for meal, driving down the price of animal protein products. This partially offsets the  growth of oil and bakery prices, leaving the overall “food at home” portion of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) essentially unchanged. This can be attributed to meat prices representing a larger share of the CPI than fats and oils.