MARKET TALK: Curious Buyers Drive Soybean Sustainability Push

16:21 EDT - US soy farmers, increasingly faced with questions about sustainability from Europe and big buyers such as Unilever (UN), are trying to get ahead of the issue. At a Chicago conference, the Illinois Soybean Association says buyers are increasingly interested in carbon footprints and water used to make a crop. The group also emphasizing to buyers that its farmers already do well in these areas, ahead of a broader campaign later this year. Ron Moore, an Illinois soy farmer and association official, says the group is mindful of criticism of palm oil production, which led to a broad sustainable certification program. "We're trying to avoid that," he says. (ian.berry@dowjones.com; @enberry)

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