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That just says soybeans and palm oil are imported in and that’s bad.

Kinda unrelated, yeah?

Most of the soybean products (like tofu and tempeh) in the U.S. aren't grown here, the study found. Up until recently, they were largely imported from India, where soybean production contributes to widespread deforestation and habitat loss. Soybean plantations also take up valuable land space that could be used to ease food insecurity in the country instead.

And the pollution and environmental impact from transporting soybeans hundreds of thousands of miles to the U.S. is its own environmental catastrophe.

Similarly, palm oil, which is often used as a vegan substitute for butter or lard, is mostly imported from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Nigeria. Local ecosystems there have been devastated by deforestation and loss of biodiversity as millions of hectares of forests are razed for palm oil production.

On top of its environmental impact, the palm oil industry has been the subject of numerous allegations of human rights violations. Child labor, rampant sexual abuse and rape, and exposure to hazardous pesticides without proper protective equipment aren't uncommon.

"People prioritize the lives of livestock and domesticated farm animals over the lives of the people who grow palm oil or soybeans," Trauger said. "Corporations love to market to people that eating this way will make a difference in the world, but it won't."