Soybean industry’s WISHH initiative brings soy to Guatemala

A recent American Soybean Association-sponsored initiative in Guatemala provided new information about soy’s nutritional value to nearly 40 Central American industry stakeholders in the nation’s food distribution programs.
 
The ASA/WISHH Soy Nutrition Seminar was presented Sept. 29 in conjunction with the Vice-Ministry of Food Security and Nutrition (VISAN), part of the Ministry of Agriculture in Guatemala. Internationally recognized expert Mark Messina presented on soy’s health benefits.
 
To prepare the program, The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (ASA/WISHH) worked with a local Guatemalan food-processing firm that imports more than 4,500 metric tons of U.S. soy flour annually; the seminar featured an interactive cooking segment for participants to taste and test various recipes.
 
ASA/WISHH is a global outreach effort focusing on on perceived weaker links in worldwide agricultural value chains with the goal of facilitating growth for local economies and improved nutrition for both people and animals through more widespread reliance on soy.
 
WISHH's accomplishments help to forge trade relationships that in return grow U.S. soy markets for mutual benefit. The initiative educates on crop growth, processing, soy products and consumer options. Soy can be made into diverse consumer products, from meal and flour to oil and beverages. It can feed livestock and poultry and provide vegetable-sourced protein either as a meat alternative or a complement.
 
Messina has appeared on CNN and lectures professionally worldwide. He previously worked for the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.