STORY: At this upscale restaurant in the foodie mecca of Sao Paulo, a novel star ingredient is being served: tofu.

:: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Despite being the world's top producer of soybeans, Brazilians eat rather little of it, making soy a pricey niche offering.

Sushimar's owner, Maria Cermelli, says there's a prejudice against tofu here.

That's in part because most of Brazil's soybeans are grown to be exported to Asia and Europe - to fatten up livestock.

And 98% of it is genetically modified to withstand the heavy use of herbicide.

All of that has added to a stigma in the local market.

So, most food companies offering tofu and soy milk to choosy Brazilians rely on expensive parallel farming of non-GMO soybeans - or imported products from as far off as Japan.

"It's crazy to think that Brazil as the largest soy producer in the world is actually also an importer of soy."

Gus Guadagnini is Good Food Institute's Brazil CEO, a think tank studying the development of meat alternatives.

:: Gus Guadagnini, Brazil CEO, Good Food Institute

"And that's exactly because the soy that is being produced in Brazil is being used to feed animals while when we want to buy non-GMO soy protein to be used in the food industry, they have to import from other countries."

That's pushed up the price of soy you DO find here in Brazil.

Brazilians making minimum wage would need to fork over a full day's pay for just 250 grams of tofu.

All the while, Brazil ships over a million tons a week of soybeans to China on average.

Brazil is forecast to produce a record 170 million metric tons of soybeans in its next harvest - more than the U.S.

Agriculture consultancy Agromeris found Brazil was the only major market for foods made with soybeans in decline.

But back at Sushimar, Cermelli says attitudes towards soy are slowly evolving.

:: Maria Cermelli, Sushimar owner

"I think this is changing a lot, because there are a lot of people adhering to the vegan diet. And so I think that this prejudice is decreasing more and more and I think that because of this there is much better quality tofu today."