Can Microbiomes & Soybeans Revolutionize Plant-Based Diets? EU-Backed Project Set to Find Out – vegconomist
MICROBIOMES4SOY, a new EU-funded Horizon project, will explore how microbiomes impact human, soil, and environmental health to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems.
The project focuses on soybeans as a climate-positive protein source, aiming to improve their resilience and nutritional quality by employing microbiomes in their production and further use in food and feed.
During the five years of implementation (2024-2028), the project aims to develop microbiome-based knowledge and awareness, explore the effects of soybeans on the human gut, create microbiome-based solutions, and facilitate healthy soy-enriched diets.
“…the project will help facilitate the transition to healthier, more environmentally friendly, plant-based diets”
Based in Vienna and coordinated by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), MICROBIOMES4SOY gathers expertise from 17 partners from 10 countries, top universities, research centers, and non-profit organizations. This multi-actor approach seeks to leverage expertise in soil, plant, human, and animal microbiomes, bioinformatics, modeling, crop production, food/feed production, and scientific communication to carry out comprehensive research on microbiomes and soy.
“By using the soybean crop as a model to deepen microbiome understanding and develop microbiome-based innovations in the food sector, the project will help facilitate the transition to healthier, more environmentally friendly, plant-based diets.”
Why microbiomes?
Microbiomes include a community of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that naturally live in particular environments—in body parts, in animals, in soil, in drinking water, and in the soil.
They are a key interface between the body and the environment, affecting health and our body’s response to the environment (and its many substances). Recognized benefits for the human body include protection against pathogens, enhancement of the immune system, and aid in food digestion.
“…despite their importance, our understanding of microbiomes within the food system remains fragmented”
Since they are also present in the environment, they play a crucial role in our food systems as they influence food production, from farm to fork. They hold significant potential for enhancing agricultural productivity, improving human health, and promoting environmental sustainability. According to MICROBIOMES4SOY, their role in the food system is often overlooked.
“However, despite their importance, our understanding of microbiomes within the food system remains fragmented, limiting our ability to harness their full potential for a positive impact,” it argues.
A holistic food system
Despite its potential as a sustainable protein source, soybeans face challenges such as climate change and the overuse of chemical inputs in soils. Soil is vital for our planet, sustaining life, capturing carbon, and mitigating flooding and drought. A combination of minerals, organic matter, air, and water, soils house billions of organisms and microbiomes.
However, soils are degrading at an alarming rate, mainly due to intensive farming practices that rely on chemical products—40% of the world’s arable soils are degraded, according to the United Nations. Land degradation occurs when improper farming practices result in soil erosion, decreased crop productivity, and reduced biodiversity.
MICROBIOMES4SOY aims to understand the dynamics and potential of plant and soil microbiomes to address these challenges and improve soybean yield, food quality and safety, and environmental sustainability.
“It is essential to take a holistic food system perspective to co-create transition pathways towards sustainable food systems. Especially when it comes to microbiome as it is ubiquitous (and critical for sustainable food systems), influencing soil fertility, plant, animal and human health!” Beatrix Wepner, project partner at AIT, told News Medical Life Sciences.
