A documentary produced in 2020 by Arirang TV [Arirang Prime] tells the story of Dr. Steven Kwon and NEI’s 17-year effort to develop a sustainable soybean value chain to eradicate malnutrition among women and children in Afghanistan.

​The former Nestle nutritionist started a nonprofit that gives free seed to thousands of farmers and offers to pay for the harvest. Far from his Pasadena home, nutritionist Steven Kwon stood before Afghan government officials and agronomists in Kabul three years ago, extolling the virtues of protein-rich soybeans as a way to curb the rampant malnutrition in the war-torn nation.

Dr. Steven Kwon, President and Founder of NEI, in an interview with Yeonhap News Agency, discusses the mineral abundance of Afghanistan and its importance to its neighbors like China and Korea.

World Food Programme (WFP) writes about the efforts to add more nutrition to the diets in Afghanistan through the use of soybeans. In partnership with NEI, WFP works with farmers in Afghanistan to cultivate soybeans both to fight malnutrition and as an economic investment

The new soy milk plant can produce 40,000 pouches (190ml) a day and can be stored at room temperature for an extensive period, which can help provide protein not only for city but also for mountainous regions.

NEI recently hosted a ceremony marking the shipment equipment for a sterilized soy milk plant in Afghanistan. NEI is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Korea, and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Steven Kwon, a nutritionist and founder of the nonprofit NEI, poses in front of pictures from Afganistan Tuesday, June 7, 2005at his Pasadena office.

Nutritionist Steven Kwon is flipping through pictures from Afghanistan, where he is orchestrating a nationwide project to plant soybeans that could save the lives of the country's malnourished women and children.