According to a meta-analysis of 168 studies across six continents, the top importers of Brazilian and US soybeans converted more than 1.7 million hectares from soybean cultivation to corn, rice, wheat, and vegetable cultivation, and increased nitrogen application on the converted cropland led to greater than 100,000-metric-ton increases in nitrogen balance and nitrogen pollution, suggesting that international food trade can have negative environmental consequences for importing as well as exporting countries.
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Article #17-18153: "Importing food damages domestic environment: Evidence from global soybean trade," by Jing Sun et al.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences