(First post in this community.)

More and more I've been seeing soy proteins pop up in ingredient-lists for various foods. A cursory glance online says that this is a protein extracted from soybeans, and may have beneficial properties compared to other foodstuffs, but not enough research has been conducted, even though it's been around in edible form for over 60 years.

It's recommended as a source of proteins for vegans... but the thing is I'm seeing this in meat products. Literally all processed meat products where I live have soy proteins in them now. Beef, pork, even chicken. Almost all hot dog brands, every single salami in the stores, most processed chicken dishes, frozen Asian dishes, the list goes on.

The part that concerns me is that there's been no discussion about it anywhere. It's like it's been snuck into people's food and someone's hoping no one notices or speaks up.

So I figured I'd ask you guys what you think. Is this an ingredient in some kind of nutrition-based conspiracy, or was I just unlucky and missed some big important memo that was handed out years ago?