Question about Soybean Oil

[Elizabeth2008]

I was at Whole Foods the other day and trying to buy a muffin for my son. I read the ingredients on all of the muffins and scones (about 20 different ones) and EVERY single one had soybean oil somewhere on the ingredient list. So, my first question is WTF is up with soybean oil being in everything? Is it just that it's cheaper? Some of the things (like the croissant) had butter listed higher up on the ingredient list, but then still had soybean oil at the bottom. My second quesiton is how concerned should I be? It's Whole Foods, but it still doesn't say "organic soybean oil" so I assume it could be GMO? Is soybean oil (if it were from organic soybeans) that bad for you? I did a google search and couldn't find any info except regarding hydrogenated soybean oil (which this was not).

[wife2jason]

My understanding is that it would most likely be GMO if not labled organic. Organic crackers should have organic ingredients...but muffins from the baked goods aisle, not labled organic, sadly I'd assume not.

The govt subsidies, making soy bean oil so cheap, would be my guess on why. I too am learning that corn and soy are really in almost every prepared food at the store!

[sweetjasmine]

That's true, soybean oil is very cheap which is why it's used often. The omega 6 profile in relation to omega 3 is very high and that's not a good thing. I don't think it would harm a generally healthy person if consumed very infrequently and in small amounts but for the most part I try to stay away from it and most other vegetable oils.

[LauraLoo]

We started to avoid soy when my ds developed an allergy to soy, and it didn't take long to figure out that soy is in practically everything pre-packaged. It's cheap and readily available.

As far as how much soy is ok? That would really depend on your comfort level.