A research team from the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and collaborators has published a study in Nature Food showing that a combination of policy measures could significantly increase China's soybean self-sufficiency (SSR) while reducing global pressure on land resources.

The study, titled "Integrated policies could raise China's soybean self-sufficiency and ease global land-use pressure", was published online on July 10, 2026. The research was conducted jointly by IARRP, China Agricultural University, the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Global Ecology Unit of CREAF-CSIC and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Michigan State University.

Soybeans are an important strategic crop for food security and the stable supply of meat and other animal products. To address China's high dependence on soybean imports and growing global resource and environmental pressures, the research team analyzed changes in soybean consumption in China from 1961 to 2022 and developed models to project soybean demand through 2030 and 2050.

The study found that China's soybean SSR would remain under pressure without additional policy interventions. However, a coordinated approach combining the utilization of improved salt-affected land, agricultural biotechnology, and healthier dietary patterns could significantly increase soybean SSR and reduce dependence on international markets.

The study also highlighted the global benefits of increasing China's soybean SSR. Lower import demand could ease pressure on global soybean market, reduce the need for cropland expansion in major producing regions such as South America, and support ecosystem restoration and carbon reduction. These benefits could help address food security, climate change, and biodiversity conservation.

The study provides a new perspective on the transformation of the soybean sector by linking agricultural production, food consumption, and global environmental impacts. It also offers scientific evidence for balancing China's food security goals with global sustainable development.

This study is a research continuation on the environmental impacts of global soybean trade. In a 2018 study published in PNAS, the team examined the hidden environmental costs of soybean imports. The new study moves from identifying the environmental impacts of soybean trade to exploring integrated policy solutions, providing a more comprehensive perspective on the relationship between soybean trade, food security, and environmental sustainability.

The research was supported by the State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund.

Paper: Lun F., Sun J., Zhou Y., Hu Q., Gan L., Zhang T., Wang S., Peñuelas J., Sardans J., Lu M., Yang P., Sun D., Liu J., Wu Wenbin. Integrated policies could raise China's soybean self-sufficiency and ease global land-use pressure. Nature Food, 2026.

DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01378-1