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The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of
legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
native to
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
, widely grown for its edible
bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
, from which
tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
and
tofu skin Tofu skin, Yuba, beancurd skin, beancurd sheet, or beancurd robes is a food product made from soybeans. During the boiling of soy milk, in an open shallow pan, a film or skin composed primarily of a soy protein-lipid complex forms on the liquid s ...
are made. Fermented soy foods include
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
,
fermented bean paste Fermented bean paste is a category of fermented foods typically made from ground soybeans, which are indigenous to the cuisines of East, South and Southeast Asia. In some cases, such as the production of ''miso'', other varieties of beans, such ...
,
nattō , spelled as natto in standard English language use, is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with ''Bacillus subtilis'' var. ''natto''. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served wi ...
, and
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhiz ...
. Fat-free (defatted) soybean meal is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many packaged meals. For example, soybean products, such as
textured vegetable protein Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender ...
(TVP), are ingredients in many meat and
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
substitutes. Soybeans contain significant amounts of phytic acid,
dietary minerals In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. However, the four major structural elements in the human body by weight (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, ...
and
B vitamins B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds that often coexi ...
. Soy vegetable oil, used in food and industrial applications, is another product of processing the soybean crop. Soybean is the most important protein source for feed farm animals (that in turn yields animal protein for human consumption).


Etymology

The word "soy" originated as a corruption of the
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
or Japanese names for
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
() . The etymology of the genus, ''Glycine'', comes from
Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
. When naming the genus, Linnaeus observed that one of the species within the genus had a sweet root. Based on the sweetness, the Greek word for sweet, glykós, was Latinized. The genus name is not related to the amino acid
glycine Glycine (symbol Gly or G; ) is an amino acid that has a single hydrogen atom as its side chain. It is the simplest stable amino acid (carbamic acid is unstable), with the chemical formula NH2‐ CH2‐ COOH. Glycine is one of the proteinogeni ...
.


Classification

The genus ''Glycine'' is divided into two subgenera, ''Glycine'' and ''Soja''. The subgenus ''Soja'' (Moench) F.J. Herm. includes the cultivated soybean, ''Glycine max'' (L.) Merr., and the wild soybean, ''
Glycine soja ''Glycine soja'', or wild soybean (previously ''G. ussuriensis'') is an annual plant in the legume family. It is the closest living relative of soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native ...
'' Sieb. & Zucc. Both species are annuals. ''Glycine soja'' is the wild ancestor of ''Glycine max'', and grows wild in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. The subgenus ''Glycine'' consists of at least 25 wild
perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
species: for example, ''Glycine canescens'' F.J. Herm. and ''G. tomentella'' Hayata, both found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Perennial soybean ('' Neonotonia wightii'') originated in Africa and is now a widespread pasture crop in the tropics. Like some other crops of long domestication, the relationship of the modern soybean to wild-growing species can no longer be traced with any degree of certainty. It is a cultural variety with a very large number of cultivars.


Description

Like most plants, soybeans grow in distinct morphological stages as they develop from seeds into fully mature plant.


Germination

The first stage of growth is
germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...
, a method which first becomes apparent as a seed's
radicle In botany, the radicle is the first part of a seedling (a growing plant embryo) to emerge from the seed during the process of germination. The radicle is the embryonic root of the plant, and grows downward in the soil (the shoot emerges from ...
emerges. This is the first stage of root growth and occurs within the first 48 hours under ideal growing conditions. The first
photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...
structures, the
cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The numb ...
s, develop from the
hypocotyl The hypocotyl (short for "hypocotyledonous stem", meaning "below seed leaf") is the stem of a germinating seedling, found below the cotyledons (seed leaves) and above the radicle ( root). Eudicots As the plant embryo grows at germination, it se ...
, the first plant structure to emerge from the soil. These cotyledons both act as leaves and as a source of nutrients for the immature plant, providing the seedling nutrition for its first 7 to 10 days.


Maturation

The first true leaves develop as a pair of single blades. Subsequent to this first pair, mature
nodes In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a Vertex (graph theory), vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics *Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two ...
form compound leaves with three blades. Mature
trifoliolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
leaves, having three to four leaflets per leaf, are often between long and broad. Under ideal conditions, stem growth continues, producing new nodes every four days. Before flowering, roots can grow per day. If rhizobia are present, root nodulation begins by the time the third node appears. Nodulation typically continues for 8 weeks before the symbiotic infection process stabilizes. The final characteristics of a soybean plant are variable, with factors such as genetics, soil quality, and climate affecting its form; however, fully mature soybean plants are generally between in height and have rooting depths between .


Flowering

Flowering is triggered by day length, often beginning once days become shorter than 12.8 hours. This trait is highly variable however, with different
varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
reacting differently to changing day length. Soybeans form inconspicuous, self-fertile flowers which are borne in the
axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
of the leaf and are white, pink or purple. Though they do not require pollination, they are attractive to bees, because they produce nectar that is high in sugar content. Depending on the soybean variety, node growth may cease once flowering begins. Strains that continue nodal development after flowering are termed " indeterminates" and are best suited to climates with longer growing seasons. Often soybeans drop their leaves before the seeds are fully mature. The fruit is a hairy pod that grows in clusters of three to five, each pod is long and usually contains two to four (rarely more)
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s 5–11 mm in diameter. Soybean seeds come in a wide variety of sizes and hull colors such as black, brown, yellow, and green. Variegated and bicolored seed coats are also common.


Seed resilience

The hull of the mature bean is hard, water-resistant, and protects the
cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The numb ...
and
hypocotyl The hypocotyl (short for "hypocotyledonous stem", meaning "below seed leaf") is the stem of a germinating seedling, found below the cotyledons (seed leaves) and above the radicle ( root). Eudicots As the plant embryo grows at germination, it se ...
(or "germ") from damage. If the seed coat is cracked, the seed will not
germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...
. The scar, visible on the seed coat, is called the hilum (colors include black, brown, buff, gray and yellow) and at one end of the hilum is the
micropyle Micropyle may refer to: * Micropyle (botany) In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (o ...
, or small opening in the seed coat which can allow the absorption of water for sprouting. Some seeds such as soybeans containing very high levels of
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
can undergo
desiccation Desiccation () is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. ...
, yet survive and revive after water absorption. A. Carl Leopold began studying this capability at the
Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research The Boyce Thompson Institute (previously: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research) is an independent research institute devoted to using plant sciences to improve agriculture, protect the environment, and enhance human health. The Boyce Thomps ...
at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in the mid-1980s. He found soybeans and corn to have a range of soluble
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s protecting the seed's cell viability. Patents were awarded to him in the early 1990s on techniques for protecting biological membranes and proteins in the dry state.


Nitrogen-fixing ability

Like many legumes, soybeans can fix atmospheric nitrogen, due to the presence of
symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
bacteria from the Rhizobia group.


Chemical composition

Together,
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
and
soybean oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed s ...
content account for 56% of dry soybeans by weight (36% protein and 20%
fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...
, table). The remainder consists of 30%
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s, 9% water and 5%
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
(table). Soybeans comprise approximately 8% seed coat or hull, 90%
cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The numb ...
s and 2%
hypocotyl The hypocotyl (short for "hypocotyledonous stem", meaning "below seed leaf") is the stem of a germinating seedling, found below the cotyledons (seed leaves) and above the radicle ( root). Eudicots As the plant embryo grows at germination, it se ...
axis or germ.


Nutrition

A 100-gram reference quantity of raw soybeans supplies of
food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals (including humans) derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscle, muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the ...
and are 9% water, 30%
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s, 20% total
fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...
and 36%
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
(table). Soybeans are a rich source of
essential nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
s, providing in a 100-gram serving (raw, for reference) high contents of the
Daily Value The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...
(DV) especially for protein (36% DV),
dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
(37%),
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
(121%),
manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
(120%),
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
(101%) and several
B vitamins B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds that often coexi ...
, including
folate Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...
(94%) (table). High contents also exist for
vitamin K Vitamin K refers to structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamers found in foods and marketed as dietary supplements. The human body requires vitamin K for post-synthesis modification of certain proteins that are required for blood coagulation ...
,
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
,
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and
potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
(table). For human consumption, soybeans must be cooked with "wet" heat to destroy the
trypsin inhibitor A trypsin inhibitor (TI) is a protein and a type of serine protease inhibitor (serpin) that reduces the biological activity of trypsin by controlling the activation and catalytic reactions of proteins. Trypsin is an enzyme involved in the breakdown ...
s (
serine protease inhibitor Serpins are a superfamily of proteins with similar structures that were first identified for their protease inhibition activity and are found in all kingdoms of life. The acronym serpin was originally coined because the first serpins to be i ...
s). Raw soybeans, including the immature green form, are toxic to all
monogastric A monogastric organism has a simple single-chambered stomach (one stomach). Examples of monogastric herbivores are horses and rabbits. Examples of monogastric omnivores include humans, pigs, hamsters and rats. Furthermore, there are monogastric ...
animals.


Protein

Most soy protein is a relatively heat-stable storage protein. This heat stability enables soy food products requiring high temperature cooking, such as
tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
,
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
and
textured vegetable protein Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender ...
(soy flour) to be made.
Soy protein Soy protein is a protein that is isolated from soybean. It is made from soybean meal that has been dehulled and defatted. Dehulled and defatted soybeans are processed into three kinds of high protein commercial products: soy flour, concentrates, ...
is essentially identical to the protein of other
legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
seeds and
pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
. Soy is a good source of protein for vegetarians and
vegans Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...
or for people who want to reduce the amount of meat they eat, according to the
US Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
: Although soybeans have high protein content, soybeans also contain high levels of
protease inhibitors Protease inhibitors (PIs) are medications that act by interfering with enzymes that cleave proteins. Some of the most well known are antiviral drugs widely used to treat HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. These protease inhibitors prevent viral replicat ...
, which can prevent digestion. Protease inhibitors are reduced by cooking soybeans, and are present in low levels in soy products such as
tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
and
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
. The
Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score Protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) is a method of evaluating the quality of a protein based on both the amino acid requirements of humans and their ability to digest it. The PDCAAS rating was adopted by the US FDA and the Fo ...
(PDCAAS) of soy protein is the nutritional equivalent of meat, eggs, and
casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins ( αS1, aS2, β, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of the proteins in hum ...
for human growth and health. Soybean protein isolate has a biological value of 74, whole soybeans 96, soybean milk 91, and eggs 97. All
spermatophytes A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...
, except for the family of grasses and cereals (
Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
), contain 7S (vicilin) and 11S (legumin) soy protein-like globulin storage proteins; or only one of these
globulin The globulins are a family of globular proteins that have higher molecular weights than albumins and are insoluble in pure water but dissolve in dilute salt solutions. Some globulins are produced in the liver, while others are made by the immune ...
proteins. S denotes
Svedberg A Svedberg unit or svedberg (symbol S, sometimes Sv) is a non- SI metric unit for sedimentation coefficients. The Svedberg unit offers a measure of a particle's size indirectly based on its sedimentation rate under acceleration (i.e. how fast a ...
, sedimentation coefficients. Oats and rice are anomalous in that they also contain a majority of soybean-like protein.Seed Proteins; Peter R. Shewery and Rod Casey (Eds) 1999. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands Cocoa, for example, contains the 7S globulin, which contributes to cocoa/chocolate taste and aroma, whereas coffee beans (coffee grounds) contain the 11S globulin responsible for coffee's aroma and flavor. Vicilin and legumin proteins belong to the
cupin superfamily The cupin superfamily is a diverse superfamily of proteins named after its conserved barrel domain (''cupa'' being the Latin term for a small barrel). The superfamily includes a wide variety of enzymes as well as non-enzymatic seed storage p ...
, a large family of functionally diverse proteins that have a common origin and whose evolution can be followed from bacteria to eukaryotes including animals and higher plants. 2S albumins form a major group of homologous storage proteins in many
dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...
species and in some
monocots Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...
but not in grasses (cereals). Soybeans contain a small but significant 2S storage protein. 2S albumin are grouped in the
prolamin Prolamins are a group of plant storage proteins having a high proline amino acid content. They are found in plants, mainly in the seeds of cereal grains such as wheat (gliadin), barley (hordein), rye ( secalin), corn (zein), sorghum ( kafirin) ...
superfamily. Other allergenic proteins included in this 'superfamily' are the non-specific plant lipid transfer proteins,
alpha amylase inhibitor In molecular biology, alpha-amylase inhibitor (or α-...) is a protein family which inhibits mammalian alpha-amylases specifically, by forming a tight stoichiometric 1:1 complex with alpha-amylase. This family of inhibitors has no action on plan ...
,
trypsin inhibitors A trypsin inhibitor (TI) is a protein and a type of serine protease inhibitor (serpin) that reduces the biological activity of trypsin by controlling the activation and catalytic reactions of proteins. Trypsin is an enzyme involved in the breakdown ...
, and prolamin storage proteins of cereals and grasses.
Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
s, for instance, contain 20% 2S albumin but only 6% 7S globulin and 74% 11S. It is the high 2S albumin and low 7S globulin that is responsible for the relatively low lysine content of peanut protein compared to soy protein.


Carbohydrates

The principal soluble
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s of mature soybeans are the disaccharide
sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...
(range 2.5–8.2%), the trisaccharide
raffinose Raffinose is a trisaccharide composed of galactose, glucose, and fructose. It can be found in beans, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, other vegetables, and whole grains. Raffinose can be hydrolyzed to D-galactose and sucrose by ...
(0.1–1.0%) composed of one sucrose molecule connected to one molecule of
galactose Galactose (, '' galacto-'' + '' -ose'', "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose, and about 65% as sweet as sucrose. It is an aldohexose and a C-4 epimer of glucose. A galactose molec ...
, and the tetrasaccharide
stachyose Stachyose is a tetrasaccharide consisting of two α--galactose units, one α--glucose unit, and one β--fructose unit sequentially linked as gal(α1→6)gal(α1→6)glc(α1↔2β)fru. Together with related oligosaccharides such as raffinose, stach ...
(1.4 to 4.1%) composed of one sucrose connected to two molecules of galactose. While the
oligosaccharide An oligosaccharide (/ˌɑlɪgoʊˈsækəˌɹaɪd/; from the Greek ὀλίγος ''olígos'', "a few", and σάκχαρ ''sácchar'', "sugar") is a saccharide polymer containing a small number (typically two to ten) of monosaccharides (simple sug ...
s raffinose and stachyose protect the viability of the soybean seed from desiccation (see above section on physical characteristics) they are not digestible sugars, so contribute to
flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...
and abdominal discomfort in humans and other
monogastric A monogastric organism has a simple single-chambered stomach (one stomach). Examples of monogastric herbivores are horses and rabbits. Examples of monogastric omnivores include humans, pigs, hamsters and rats. Furthermore, there are monogastric ...
animals, comparable to the disaccharide
trehalose Trehalose (from Turkish '' tıgala'' – a sugar derived from insect cocoons + -ose) is a sugar consisting of two molecules of glucose. It is also known as mycose or tremalose. Some bacteria, fungi, plants and invertebrate animals synthesize it ...
. Undigested oligosaccharides are broken down in the intestine by native microbes, producing gases such as
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
,
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
, and
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
. Since soluble soy carbohydrates are found in the whey and are broken down during fermentation, soy concentrate, soy protein isolates, tofu, soy sauce, and sprouted soybeans are without flatus activity. On the other hand, there may be some beneficial effects to ingesting oligosaccharides such as raffinose and stachyose, namely, encouraging indigenous
bifidobacteria ''Bifidobacterium'' is a genus of gram-positive, nonmotile, often branched anaerobic bacteria. They are ubiquitous inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract though strains have been isolated from the vagina and mouth ('' B. dentium'') of mamma ...
in the colon against putrefactive bacteria. The insoluble carbohydrates in soybeans consist of the complex polysaccharides
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
,
hemicellulose A hemicellulose (also known as polyose) is one of a number of heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides), such as arabinoxylans, present along with cellulose in almost all terrestrial plant cell walls.Scheller HV, Ulvskov Hemicelluloses.// Annu Rev ...
, and
pectin Pectin ( grc, πηκτικός ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural acid contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal, chemical component of ...
. The majority of soybean carbohydrates can be classed as belonging to
dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
.


Fats

Raw soybeans are 20% fat, including saturated fat (3%),
monounsaturated fat Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond. Molecular description Fatty acid ...
(4%) and polyunsaturated fat, mainly as
linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...
(table). Within
soybean oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed s ...
or the
lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...
portion of the seed is contained four
phytosterol Phytosterols are phytosteroids, similar to cholesterol, that serve as structural components of biological membranes of plants. They encompass plant sterols and stanols. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified. Free phy ...
s:
stigmasterol Stigmasterol – a plant sterol (''phytosterol'') – is among the most abundant of plant sterols, having a major function to maintain the structure and physiology of cell membranes. In the European Union, it is a food additive listed with E num ...
, sitosterol,
campesterol Campesterol is a phytosterol whose chemical structure is similar to that of cholesterol, and is one of the ingredients for E number E499. Natural occurrences Many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds contain campesterol, but in low concentrat ...
, and brassicasterol accounting for about 2.5% of the lipid fraction; and which can be converted into
steroid hormone A steroid hormone is a steroid that acts as a hormone. Steroid hormones can be grouped into two classes: corticosteroids (typically made in the adrenal cortex, hence ''cortico-'') and sex steroids (typically made in the gonads or placenta). Wi ...
s. Additionally soybeans are a rich source of
sphingolipid Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named after the mythological sphinx because o ...
s.


Other constituents

Soy contains
isoflavone Isoflavones are substituted derivatives of isoflavone, a type of naturally occurring isoflavonoids, many of which act as phytoestrogens in mammals. Isoflavones are produced almost exclusively by the members of the bean family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae ...
s—
polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...
ic compounds, produced by legumes including peanuts and chickpeas. Isoflavones are closely related to
flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...
s found in other plants, vegetables and flowers. Soy contains the
phytoestrogen A phytoestrogen is a plant-derived xenoestrogen (see estrogen) not generated within the endocrine system, but consumed by eating plants or manufactured foods. Also called a "dietary estrogen", it is a diverse group of naturally occurring nonstero ...
coumestans, also are found in beans and split-peas, with the best sources being alfalfa, clover, and soybean sprouts.
Coumestrol Coumestrol is a natural organic compound in the class of phytochemicals known as coumestans. Coumestrol was first identified as a compound with estrogenic properties by E. M. Bickoff in ladino clover and alfalfa in 1957. It has garnered research ...
, an isoflavone
coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered h ...
derivative, is the only coumestan in foods.
Saponins Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...
, a class of natural
surfactants Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...
(soaps), are sterols that are present in small amounts in various plant foods, including soybeans, other
legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
s, and cereals, such as oats.


Comparison to other major staple foods

The following table shows the nutrient content of green soybean and other major staple foods, each in respective raw form on a dry weight basis to account for their different water contents. Raw soybeans, however, are not edible and cannot be digested. These must be sprouted, or prepared and cooked for human consumption. In sprouted and cooked form, the relative nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of each of these grains is remarkably different from that of raw form of these grains reported in this table. The nutritional value of soybean and each cooked staple depends on the processing and the method of cooking: boiling, frying, roasting, baking, etc.


Cultivation


Uses

During World War II, soybeans became important in both North America and Europe chiefly as substitutes for other protein foods and as a source of edible oil. During the war, the soybean was discovered as
fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
due to
nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmo ...
by the
United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
.


Conditions

Cultivation is successful in climates with hot summers, with optimum growing conditions in mean temperatures of ; temperatures of below and over stunt growth significantly. They can grow in a wide range of soils, with optimum growth in moist
alluvial soil Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
s with good organic content. Soybeans, like most legumes, perform
nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmo ...
by establishing a
symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
relationship with the bacterium ''
Bradyrhizobium japonicum ''Bradyrhizobium japonicum'' is a species of legume- root nodulating, microsymbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The species is one of many Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria commonly referred to as rhizobia. Within that broad classification, wh ...
'' ( syn. ''Rhizobium japonicum''; Jordan 1982). This ability to fix nitrogen allows farmers to reduce nitrogen
fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
use and increase yields when growing other crops in
rotation Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...
with soy. There may be some trade-offs, however, in the long-term abundance of organic material in soils where soy and other crops (for example,
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
) are grown in rotation. For best results, though, an inoculum of the correct strain of bacteria should be mixed with the soybean (or any legume) seed before planting. Modern crop
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s generally reach a height of around , and take 80–120 days from sowing to harvesting.


Soils

Soil scientists
Edson Lobato Edson Lobato, a Brazilian soil fertility scientist, was awarded the 2006 World Food Prize for his role in helping transform the Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states ...
(Brazil),
Andrew McClung Dr. Andrew Colin McClung ( - ) was an American scientist who received the 2006 World Food Prize for his role in helping transform the Cerrado – a region of vast, once infertile tropical high plains stretching across Brazil – into highly produc ...
(U.S.), and
Alysson Paolinelli Alysson Paolinelli is a Brazilian agronomic engineer and public official who received the 2006 World Food Prize for his role in transforming the Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particular ...
(Brazil) were awarded the 2006
World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...
for transforming the ecologically biodiverse savannah of the
Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...
region of Brazil into highly productive cropland that could grow profitable soybeans.


Contamination concerns

Human
sewage sludge Sewage sludge is the residual, semi-solid material that is produced as a by-product during sewage treatment of industrial or municipal wastewater. The term " septage" also refers to sludge from simple wastewater treatment but is connected to s ...
can be used as fertilizer to grow soybeans. Soybeans grown in sewage sludge likely contain elevated concentrations of metals.


Pests

Soybean plants are vulnerable to a wide range of bacterial diseases, fungal diseases, viral diseases and parasites.


Bacteria

The primary bacterial diseases include
bacterial blight Blight refers to a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. Description Blight is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral org ...
, bacterial pustule and
downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucif ...
affecting the soybean plant.


Animals


=Nematodes

=
Soybean cyst nematode The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), ''Heterodera glycines'', is the most devastating pest to soybean crop yields in the U.S., targeting the roots of soybean and other legume plants. When infection is severe SCNs cause stunting, yellowing, impaired c ...
is the worst pest of soybean in the US. Losses of 30% or 40%“You can literally have 40% yield loss with no symptoms,” says Greg Tylka, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension nematologist. are common even without symptoms.


=Arthropods

=


Insects

The corn earworm moth and bollworm is a common and destructive pest of soybean growth in Virginia.


=Vertebrates

=


Mammals

Soybeans are consumed by
whitetail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
which may damage soybean plants through feeding, trampling and bedding, reducing
crop yield In agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. The seed ratio is another way of calculating yields. Innovations, such as the use of fertilizer, the c ...
s by as much as 15%.
Groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...
s are also a common pest in soybean fields, living in burrows underground and feeding nearby. One den of groundhogs can consume a tenth to a quarter of an acre of soybeans. Chemical repellents or
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s are effective for controlling pests in soybean fields.


Fungi

Soybeans suffer from '' Pythium spinosum'' in
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
(
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
), and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.


Cultivars


Disease resistant cultivars

Resistant varieties are available.


=PI 88788

= The vast majority of cultivars in the US have SCN resistance, but rely on only one breeding line (PI 88788) as their sole source of resistance.Reliance on the main genetic source of SCN resistance (PI 88788)may be helping SCN to overcome SCN-resistant varieties. Out of 807 resistant varieties listed by ISU this year, just 18 had a genetic background outside of PI 88788. “We have lots of varieties to pick from, but the genetic background is not as diverse as we would like it to be,” says Tylka. (The resistance genes provided by PI 88788, Peking, and PI 90763 were characterized in 1997.) As a result, for example, in 2012 only 18 cultivars out of 807 recommended by the Iowa State University Extension had any ancestry outside of PI 88788. By 2020 the situation was still about the same: Of 849 there were 810 with some ancestry from PI 88788, 35 from Peking, and only 2 from PI 89772. (On the question of exclusively PI 88788 ancestry, that number was not available for 2020.) That was speculated to be in 2012There have been cases where SCN has clipped yields of SCN-resistant varieties. Reliance on the main genetic source of SCN resistance (PI 88788)may be helping SCN to overcome SCN-resistant varieties.—and was clearly by 2020—producing SCN populations that are virulent on PI 88788.


Production

In 2020, world production of soybeans was over 353 million tonnes, led by Brazil and the United States combined with 66% of the total (table). Production has dramatically increased across the globe since the 1960s, but particularly in South America after a cultivar that grew well in low latitudes was developed in the 1980s. The rapid growth of the industry has been primarily fueled by large increases in worldwide demand for meat products, particularly in developing countries like China, which alone accounts for more than 60% of imports.


Environmental issues

In spite of the Amazon "Soy Moratorium", soy production continues to play a significant role in
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
when its indirect impacts are taken into account, as land used to grow soy continues to increase. This land either comes from
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
land (which increasingly supplants forested areas), or areas outside the Amazon not covered by the moratorium, such as the
Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...
region. Roughly one-fifth of deforestation can be attributed to expanding land use to produce oilseeds, primarily for soy and
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
, whereas the expansion of
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
production accounts for 41%. The main driver of deforestation is the global demand for meat, which in turn requires huge tracts of land to grow feed crops for livestock. Around 80% of the global soybean crop is used to feed livestock.


History

Soybeans were a crucial crop in East Asia long before written records began. The origin of soy bean cultivation remains scientifically debated. The closest living relative of the soybean is ''
Glycine soja ''Glycine soja'', or wild soybean (previously ''G. ussuriensis'') is an annual plant in the legume family. It is the closest living relative of soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native ...
'' (previously called ''G. ussuriensis''), a legume native to central China. There is evidence for soybean domestication between 7000 and 6600 BC in China, between 5000 and 3000 BC in Japan and 1000 BC in Korea. The first unambiguously domesticated,
cultigen A cultigen () or cultivated plant is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection. These plants, for the most part, have commercial value in horticulture, agriculture or forestry. Beca ...
-sized soybean was discovered in Korea at the
Mumun The Mumun pottery period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC. This period is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels that form a large part of the potter ...
-period Daundong site. Prior to
fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
products such as fermented black soybeans (''
douchi ''Douchi'' () or ''tochi'' (also known as fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans (), salted black beans, salty black beans, or just black beans) is a type of fermented and salted black soybean most popular in the cuisine of ...
''), ''jiang'' (Chinese miso),
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
,
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhiz ...
,
nattō , spelled as natto in standard English language use, is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with ''Bacillus subtilis'' var. ''natto''. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served wi ...
, and
miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spre ...
, soy was considered sacred for its beneficial effects in
crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...
, and it was eaten by itself, and as
bean curd A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
and
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
. Soybeans were introduced to
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
in
Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...
circa 13th century or probably earlier. By the 17th century through their trade with Far East, soybeans and its products were traded by European traders (Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch) in Asia, and reached Indian Subcontinent by this period. By the 18th century, soybeans were introduced to the Americas and Europe from China. Soy was introduced to Africa from China in the late 19th century, and is now widespread across the continent.


East Asia

The cultivation of soybeans began in the eastern half of northern China by 2000 BC, but is almost certainly much older. The earliest documented evidence for the use of Glycine of any kind comes from charred plant remains of wild soybean recovered from Jiahu in Henan province China, a Neolithic site occupied between 9000 and 7800 calendar years ago (cal bp). An abundance of archeological charred soybean specimens have been found centered around this region. According to the ancient Chinese myth, in 2853 BC, the legendary Emperor Shennong of China proclaimed that five plants were sacred: soybeans, rice, wheat, barley, and
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
. Early Chinese records mention that soybeans were a gift from the region of
Yangtze River delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
and Southeast China.The History of Agriculture By Britannica Educational Publishing, p. 48 The ''
Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
'' claims soybean cultivation originated in China about 5000 years ago. Some scholars suggest that soybean originated in China and was domesticated about 3500 BC. Recent research, however, indicates that seeding of wild forms started early (before 5000 BC) in multiple locations throughout East Asia. The oldest preserved soybeans resembling modern varieties in size and shape were found in
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
s in
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
dated about 1000 BC.
Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...
of soybean samples recovered through flotation during excavations at the Early
Mumun The Mumun pottery period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC. This period is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels that form a large part of the potter ...
period Okbang site in Korea indicated soybean was cultivated as a food crop in around 1000–900 BC. Soybeans from the Jōmon period in Japan from 3000 BC are also significantly larger than wild varieties. Soybeans became an important crop by the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC) in China. However, the details of where, when, and under what circumstances soybean developed a close relationship with people are poorly understood. Soybean was unknown in South China before the Han period. From about the first century AD to the
Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
(15–16th centuries), soybeans were introduced into across South and Southeast Asia. This spread was due to the establishment of sea and land trade routes. The earliest Japanese textual reference to the soybean is in the classic ''
Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
'' (''Records of Ancient Matters''), which was completed in AD 712.


Southeast Asia

Soybeans were mentioned as ''kadêlê'' (modern
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
term: ) in an
old Javanese Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the island ...
manuscript, Serat
Sri Tanjung Sri Tanjung, also known as the tale of Banyuwangi ( Javanese for "fragrant water"), is a Javanese folktale about a faithful wife who was wrongfully accused. The story has been popular since the era of the Majapahit kingdom. The story is usually ...
, which dates to 12th- to 13th-century
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
. By the 13th century, the soybean had arrived and cultivated in Indonesia; it probably arrived much earlier however, carried by traders or merchants from Southern China. The earliest known reference to it as "
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhiz ...
" appeared in 1815 in the Serat Centhini manuscript. The development of tempeh fermented soybean cake probably took place earlier, circa 17th century in Java.


Indian subcontinent

By the 1600s, soy sauce spread from southern Japan across the region through the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC). The soybean probably arrived from southern China, moving southwest into northern parts of Indian subcontinent by this period.


Iberia

In 1603, " Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam", a famous Japanese-Portuguese dictionary, was compiled and published by Jesuit priests in Nagasaki. It contains short but clear definitions for about 20 words related to soyfoods—the first in any European language. The Luso-Hispanic traders were familiar with soybeans and soybean product through their trade with Far East since at least the 17th century. However, it was not until the late 19th century that the first attempt to cultivate soybeans in the Iberian peninsula was undertaken. In 1880, the soybean was first cultivated in Portugal in the Botanical Gardens at Coimbra (Crespi 1935). In about 1910 in Spain the first attempts at Soybean cultivation were made by the Count of San Bernardo, who cultivated soybeans on his estates at Almillo (in southwest Spain) about 48 miles east-northeast of Seville.


North America

Soybeans were first introduced to North America from China in 1765, by Samuel Bowen, a former
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
sailor who had visited China in conjunction with James Flint, the first Englishman legally permitted by the Chinese authorities to learn Chinese. The first "New World" soybean crop was grown on
Skidaway Island, Georgia Skidaway Island is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,310 at the 2020 census. An affluent community located south of Savannah, Skidaway Island is known for its waterf ...
, in 1765 by Henry Yonge from seeds given him by Samuel Bowen. Bowen grew soy near
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, possibly using funds from Flint, and made soy sauce for sale to England. Although soybean was introduced into North America in 1765, for the next 155 years, the crop was grown primarily for
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
. In 1831, the first soy product "a few dozen India Soy" aucearrived in Canada. Soybeans were probably first cultivated in Canada by 1855, and definitely in 1895 at Ontario Agricultural College. It was not until
Lafayette Mendel Lafayette Benedict Mendel (February 5, 1872 – December 9, 1935) was an American biochemist known for his work in nutrition, with longtime collaborator Thomas B. Osborne, including the study of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, lysine and tryptophan. ...
and Thomas Burr Osborne showed that the nutritional value of soybean seeds could be increased by cooking, moisture or heat, that soy went from a farm animal feed to a human food. William Morse is considered the "father" of modern soybean agriculture in America. He and
Charles Piper Charles Vancouver Piper (16 June 1867 – 11 February 1926) was an American botanist and agriculturalist. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he spent his youth in Seattle, Washington Territory and graduated from the University of Washi ...
(Dr. C. V. Piper) took what was an unknown Oriental peasant crop in 1910 and transformed it into a "golden bean" for America, becoming one of America's largest farm crops and its most nutritious. Prior to the 1920 in the US, the soybean was mainly a
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
crop, a source of oil, meal (for feed) and industrial products, with very little used as food. However, it took on an important role after World War I. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the drought-stricken (
Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...
) regions of the United States were able to use soy to regenerate their soil because of its nitrogen-fixing properties. Farms were increasing production to meet with government demands, and
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
became a promoter of soybeans. In 1931, Ford hired chemists Robert Boyer and Frank Calvert to produce
artificial silk Artificial silk or art silk is any synthetic fiber which resembles silk, but typically costs less to produce. Frequently, "artificial silk" is just a synonym for rayon. When made out of bamboo viscose it is also sometimes called bamboo silk. Th ...
. They succeeded in making a textile fiber of spun soy protein fibers, hardened or tanned in a
formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...
bath, which was given the name
Azlon Azlon is a synthetic textile fiber composed of protein material derived from natural sources such as soy, peanut, milk or corn. Currently it is used in clothing. Regulation Canada Under the ''Textile Labeling and Advertising Regulations'', Sec ...
. It never reached the commercial market. Soybean oil was used by
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
in
paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...
for the automobiles, as well as a fluid for shock absorbers. Prior to the 1970s, Asian-Americans and Seventh-Day Adventists were essentially the only users of soy foods in the United States. "The soy foods movement began in small pockets of the counterculture, notably the Tennessee commune named simply The Farm, but by the mid-1970s a vegetarian revival helped it gain momentum and even popular awareness through books such as ''The Book of Tofu''." Although practically unseen in 1900, by 2000 soybean plantings covered more than 70 million acres, second only to corn, and it became America's largest cash crop. In 2021, 87,195 acres were planted, with the largest acreage in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.


Caribbean and West Indies

The soybean arrived in the Caribbean in the form of soy sauce made by Samuel Bowen in Savannah, Georgia, in 1767. It remains only a minor crop there, but its uses for human food are growing steadily.


Mediterranean area

The soybean was first cultivated in Italy by 1760 in the Botanical Garden of Turin. During the 1780s, it was grown in at least three other botanical gardens in Italy. The first soybean product, soy oil, arrived in
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
during 1909 under
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The first clear cultivation occurred in 1931. This was also the first time that soybeans were cultivated in Middle East. By 1939, soybeans were cultivated in Greece.


Australia

Wild soybeans were discovered in northeastern Australia in 1770 by explorers Banks and Solander. In 1804, the first soyfood product ("Fine India Soy" auce was sold in Sydney. In 1879, the first domesticated soybeans arrived in Australia, a gift of the Minister of the Interior Department, Japan.


Western Europe

The soybean was first cultivated in France by 1779 (and perhaps as early as 1740). The two key early people and organizations introducing the soybean to France were the Society of Acclimatization (starting in 1855) and Li Yu-ying (from 1910). Li started a large tofu factory, where the first commercial soyfoods in France were made.


Africa

The soybean first arrived in Africa via Egypt in 1857. Soya Meme (Baked Soya) is produced in the village called Bame Awudome near Ho, the capital of the
Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...
of
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, by the
Ewe people The Ewe people (; ee, Eʋeawó, lit. "Ewe people"; or ''Mono Kple Volta Tɔ́sisiwo Dome'', lit. "Ewe nation","Eʋenyigba" Eweland;) are a Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in Ghana (6.0 million), and the second ...
of Southeastern Ghana and southern Togo.


Central Europe

In 1873, Professor Friedrich J. Haberlandt first became interested in soybeans when he obtained the seeds of 19 soybean varieties at the
Vienna World Exposition ) , building = Rotunda , area = 233 Ha , invent = , visitors = 7,255,000 , organized = , cnt = , org = , biz = , country = Austria-Hungary , city ...
(Wiener Weltausstellung). He cultivated these seeds in Vienna, and soon began to distribute them throughout Central and Western Europe. In 1875, he first grew the soybeans in Vienna, then in early 1876 he sent samples of seeds to seven cooperators in central Europe, who planted and tested the seeds in the spring of 1876, with good or fairly good results in each case.Shurtleff, W.; Aoyagi, A. 2015. "History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in Austria and Switzerland (1781–2015)." Lafayette, California: Soyinfo Center. 705 pp. (1444 references; 128 photos and illustrations). Free online. . Most of the farmers who received seeds from him cultivated them, then reported their results. Starting in February 1876, he published these results first in various journal articles, and finally in his ''magnum opus'', Die Sojabohne (The Soybean) in 1878. In northern Europe,
lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...
(lupine) is known as the "soybean of the north".


Central Asia

The soybean is first in cultivated Transcaucasia in Central Asia in 1876, by the Dungans. This region has never been important for soybean production.


Central America

The first reliable reference to the soybean in this region dates from Mexico in 1877.


South America

The soybean first arrived in South America in Argentina in 1882. Andrew McClung showed in the early 1950s that with soil amendments the
Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...
region of Brazil would grow soybeans. In June 1973, when soybean futures markets mistakenly portended a major shortage, the
Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 37th president of the United States began with First inauguration of Richard Nixon, his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974 ...
imposed an embargo on soybean exports. It lasted only a week, but Japanese buyers felt that they could not rely on U.S. supplies, and the rival Brazilian soybean industry came into existence. This led Brazil to become the world's largest producer of soybeans in 2020, with 131 million tons.


Genetics

Chinese
landrace A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...
s were found to have a slightly higher diversity than inbred lines by Li et al. 2010. Specific locus amplified fragment sequencing ( SLAF-seq) has been used by Han et al. 2015 to study the genetic history of the domestication process, perform
genome-wide association studies In genomics, a genome-wide association study (GWA study, or GWAS), also known as whole genome association study (WGA study, or WGAS), is an observational study of a genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals to see if any varian ...
(GWAS) of agronomically relevant traits, and produce
high-density linkage map Genetic linkage is the tendency of DNA sequences that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during the meiosis phase of sexual reproduction. Two genetic markers that are physically near to each other are unlikely to be separ ...
s. An
SNP array In molecular biology, SNP array is a type of DNA microarray which is used to detect polymorphisms within a population. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), a variation at a single site in DNA, is the most frequent type of variation in the ge ...
was developed by Song et al. 2013 and has been used for research and
breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and ra ...
; the same team applied their array in Song et al. 2015 against the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection and obtained mapping data that are expected to yield
association mapping In genetics, association mapping, also known as " linkage disequilibrium mapping", is a method of mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that takes advantage of historic linkage disequilibrium to link phenotypes (observable characteristics) to geno ...
data for such traits.


Genetic modification

Soybeans are one of the "
biotech Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
food" crops that have been
genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the gene ...
, and genetically modified soybeans are being used in an increasing number of products. In 1995,
Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...
company introduced glyphosate-tolerant soybeans that have been genetically modified to be resistant to Monsanto's
glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...
herbicides through substitution of the ''
Agrobacterium ''Agrobacterium'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria established by H. J. Conn that uses horizontal gene transfer to cause tumors in plants. '' Agrobacterium tumefaciens'' is the most commonly studied species in this genus. ''Agrobacterium'' i ...
sp.'' (strain CP4)
gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
EPSP (5-enolpyruvyl shikimic acid-3-phosphate) synthase. The substituted version is not sensitive to
glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...
. In 1997, about 8% of all soybeans cultivated for the commercial market in the United States were genetically modified. In 2010, the figure was 93%. As with other glyphosate-tolerant crops, concern is expressed over damage to
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
. A 2003 study concluded the "Roundup Ready" (RR) gene had been bred into so many different soybean cultivars, there had been little decline in genetic diversity, but "diversity was limited among elite lines from some companies". The widespread use of such types of GM soybeans in the Americas has caused problems with exports to some regions. GM crops require extensive certification before they can be legally imported into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, where there is considerable supplier and consumer reluctance to use GM products for consumer or animal use. Difficulties with coexistence and subsequent traces of cross-contamination of non-GM stocks have caused shipments to be rejected and have put a premium on non-GM soy. A 2006
United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
report found the adoption of genetically engineered (GE) soy, corn and cotton reduced the amount of pesticides used overall, but did result in a slightly greater amount of
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...
s used for soy specifically. The use of GE soy was also associated with greater
conservation tillage Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoei ...
, indirectly leading to better soil conservation, as well as increased income from off-farming sources due to the greater ease with which the crops can be managed. Though the overall estimated benefits of the adoption of GE soybeans in the United States was $310 million, the majority of this benefit was experienced by the companies selling the seeds (40%), followed by biotechnology firms (28%) and farmers (20%). The patent on glyphosate-tolerant soybeans expired in 2014, so benefits can be expected to shift. In 2010, a team of American scientists announced they had sequenced the soybean genome—the first legume to be sequenced.


Uses

Among the legumes, the soybean is valued for its high (38–45%)
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
content as well as its high (approximately 20%) oil content. Soybeans are the most valuable agricultural export of the United States. Approximately 85% of the world's soybean crop is processed into soybean meal and soybean oil, the remainder processed in other ways or eaten whole. Soybeans can be broadly classified as "vegetable" (garden) or field (oil) types. Vegetable types cook more easily, have a mild, nutty flavor, better texture, are larger in size, higher in protein, and lower in oil than field types.
Tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
,
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
and
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
are among the top edible commodities made using soybeans. Producers prefer the higher protein cultivars bred from vegetable soybeans originally brought to the United States in the late 1930s. The "garden" cultivars are generally not suitable for mechanical combine harvesting because there is a tendency for the pods to shatter upon reaching maturity.


Soybean oil

Soybean seed contains 18–19% oil. To extract soybean oil from seed, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, rolled into flakes and solvent-extracted with commercial hexane. The oil is then refined, blended for different applications, and sometimes hydrogenated. Soybean oils, both liquid and partially hydrogenated, are exported abroad, sold as "vegetable oil", or end up in a wide variety of processed foods.


Soybean meal

Soybean meal, or soymeal, is the material remaining after solvent extraction of oil from soybean flakes, with a 50%
soy protein Soy protein is a protein that is isolated from soybean. It is made from soybean meal that has been dehulled and defatted. Dehulled and defatted soybeans are processed into three kinds of high protein commercial products: soy flour, concentrates, ...
content. The meal is 'toasted' (a
misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name ...
because the heat treatment is with moist steam) and ground in a
hammer mill A hammer mill, hammer forge or hammer works was a workshop in the pre- industrial era that was typically used to manufacture semi-finished, wrought iron products or, sometimes, finished agricultural or mining tools, or military weapons. The feat ...
. Ninety-seven percent of soybean meal production globally is used as livestock feed. Soybean meal is also used in some
dog food Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of ca ...
s.


Livestock feed

One of the major uses of soybeans globally is as livestock feed, predominantly in the form of soybean meal. In the European Union, for example, though it does not make up most of the weight of livestock feed, soybean meal provides around 60% of the protein fed to livestock. Spring grasses are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, whereas soy is predominantly omega-6. The soybean hulls, which mainly consist of the outer coats of the beans removed before oil extraction, can also be fed to livestock, as well as whole soybean seeds after processing.


Food for human consumption

In addition to their use in livestock feed, soybean products are widely used for human consumption. Common soybean products include
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
,
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
,
tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
, soy meal,
soy flour The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...
,
textured vegetable protein Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender ...
(TVP),
soy curls Soy curls are a soy based meat alternative A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat or fake meat, sometimes pejoratively) is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for ...
,
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhiz ...
, soy lecithin and
soybean oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed s ...
. Soybeans may also be eaten with minimal processing, for example in the Japanese food , in which immature soybeans are boiled whole in their pods and served with
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
. In China, Japan, and
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, soybean and soybean products are a common part of the diet.
Tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
(豆腐 ''dòufu'') is thought to have originated in China, along with
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
and several varieties of soybean paste used as seasonings. Japanese foods made from soya include ''
miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spre ...
'' (), ''
nattō , spelled as natto in standard English language use, is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with ''Bacillus subtilis'' var. ''natto''. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served wi ...
'' (), ''
kinako ''Kinako'' ( or ) is roasted soybean flour, a product commonly used in Japanese cuisine. In English, it is usually called "roasted soy flour". More precisely it is "roasted whole soy flour". Usage of the word ''kinako'' appeared in cookbooks fr ...
'' () and ''edamame'' (), as well as products made with tofu such as
atsuage is a Japanese food product made from twice-fried soybeans. It is produced by cutting tofu into thin slices and deep-frying them first at 110–120 °C, and then again at 180–200 °C. ''Abura-age'' is often used to wrap , and is added to miso ...
and
aburaage is a Japanese food product made from twice-fried soybeans. It is produced by cutting tofu into thin slices and deep-frying them first at 110–120 °C, and then again at 180–200 °C. ''Abura-age'' is often used to wrap , and is added to miso ...
. In China, whole dried soybeans are sold in supermarkets and used to cook a variety of dishes, usually after rehydration by soaking in water; they find their use in soup or as a savory dish. In
Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...
, soybean sprouts ( 콩나물 ''
kongnamul Soybean sprout is a culinary vegetable grown by sprouting soybeans. It can be grown by placing and watering the sprouted soybeans in the shade until the roots grow long. Soybean sprouts are extensively cultivated and consumed in Asian countries. ...
'') are used in a variety of dishes, and soybeans are the base ingredient in ''
doenjang ''Doenjang'' * (; "thick sauce") or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish. History The earliest soybean fer ...
'', ''
cheonggukjang Cheonggukjang () is a traditional Korean food made by fermenting soybeans. It contains whole, as well as ground soybeans. Production It can be made in two to three days through fermentation of boiled soybeans, adding ''Bacillus subtilis'', wh ...
'' and ''ganjang''. In Vietnam, soybeans are used to make soybean paste ('' tương'') in the North with the most popular products are ''tương Bần'', ''tương Nam Đàn'', ''tương Cự Đà'' as a garnish for ''
phở Phở or pho (, , ; ) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (), herbs, and meat (usually beef (), sometimes chicken ()). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants ...
'' and ''
gỏi cuốn ''Gỏi cuốn'' or nem cuốn, salad roll, summer roll, fresh spring roll, spring roll, rice paper roll, is a Vietnamese dish traditionally consisting of pork, prawn, vegetables, ''bún'' (rice vermicelli), and other ingredients wrapped in Vietn ...
'' dishes, as well as tofu ( or or ), soy sauce (), soy milk ( in the North or in the South), and (tofu sweet soup).


Flour

Soy flour refers to soybeans ground finely enough to pass through a 100-mesh or smaller screen where special care was taken during desolventizing (not toasted) to minimize denaturation of the protein to retain a high
protein dispersibility index The Protein Dispersibility Index (PDI) is a means of comparing the solubility of a protein in water, and is widely used in the soybean product industry. A sample of the soybeans are ground, mixed with a specific quantity of water, and the two are t ...
, for uses such as
food extrusion Extrusion in food processing consists of forcing soft mixed ingredients through an opening in a perforated plate or die designed to produce the required shape. The extruded food is then cut to a specific size by blades. The machine which forces ...
of
textured vegetable protein Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender ...
. It is the starting material for production of soy concentrate and soy protein isolate. Soy flour can also be made by roasting the soybean, removing the coat (hull), and grinding into a flour. Soy flour is manufactured with different fat levels. Alternatively, raw soy flour omits the roasting step. * Defatted soy flour is obtained from
solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
extracted flakes, and contains less than 1% oil. * "Natural or full-fat soy flour is made from unextracted, dehulled beans, and contains about 18% to 20% oil." Its high oil content requires the use of a specialized Alpine Fine Impact Mill to grind rather than the usual
hammer mill A hammer mill, hammer forge or hammer works was a workshop in the pre- industrial era that was typically used to manufacture semi-finished, wrought iron products or, sometimes, finished agricultural or mining tools, or military weapons. The feat ...
. Full-fat soy flour has a lower protein concentration than defatted flour. Extruded Full-Fat soy flour, ground in an Alpine mill, can replace/extend EGGS in baking and cooking Full-fat soy flour is a component of the famous
Cornell bread Cornell bread was invented in the United States during World War II by Clive McCay, a professor at Cornell University, as an inexpensive alternative to strictly rationed foods. Adding powdered milk and soy flour to bread increases its protein con ...
recipe (think pizza) * Low-fat soy flour is made by adding some oil back into defatted soy flour. Fat levels range from 4.5% to 9%. * High-fat soy flour can also be produced by adding back soybean oil to defatted flour, usually at the level of 15%.
Soy lecithin Lecithin (, from the Greek ''lekithos'' "yolk") is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues which are amphiphilic – they attract both water and fatty substances (and so a ...
can be added (up to 15%) to soy flour to make lecithinated soy flour. It increases dispersibility and gives it emulsifying properties. Soy flour has 50% protein and 5% fiber. It has higher levels of protein, thiamine, riboflavin, phosphorus, calcium, and iron than
wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...
. It does not contain
gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grain ...
. As a result,
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
-raised
bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
s made with soy flour are dense in texture. Among many uses, soy flour thickens sauces, prevents
staling Staling, or "going stale", is a chemical and physical process in bread and similar foods that reduces their palatability - stale bread is dry and hard. Mechanism and effects Staling is not simply a drying-out process due to evaporation. One im ...
in baked food, and reduces oil absorption during frying. Baking food with soy flour gives it tenderness, moistness, a rich color, and a fine texture. Soy grits are similar to soy flour except the soybeans have been toasted and cracked into coarse pieces. ''
Kinako ''Kinako'' ( or ) is roasted soybean flour, a product commonly used in Japanese cuisine. In English, it is usually called "roasted soy flour". More precisely it is "roasted whole soy flour". Usage of the word ''kinako'' appeared in cookbooks fr ...
'' is a soy flour used in
Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and other ...
.


Soy-based infant formula

Soy-based
infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...
(SBIF) is sometimes given to infants who are not being strictly breastfed; it can be useful for infants who are either allergic to pasteurized cow milk proteins or who are being fed a
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
diet. It is sold in powdered, ready-to-feed, and concentrated liquid forms. Some reviews have expressed the opinion that more research is needed to determine what effect the phytoestrogens in soybeans may have on infants. Diverse studies have concluded there are no adverse effects in human growth, development, or reproduction as a result of the consumption of soy-based infant formula. One of these studies, published in the ''
Journal of Nutrition ''The Journal of Nutrition'' (or shortened as '' JN'' or '' J Nutr'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Society for Nutrition. Established in 1928, the journal publishes experimental research on human, animal, cell ...
'', concludes that there are:
... no clinical concerns with respect to nutritional adequacy, sexual development, neurobehavioral development, immune development, or thyroid disease. SBIFs provide complete nutrition that adequately supports normal infant growth and development. FDA has accepted SBIFs as safe for use as the sole source of nutrition.


Meat and dairy alternatives and extenders

Soybeans can be processed to produce a texture and appearance similar to many other foods. For example, soybeans are the primary ingredient in many
dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in th ...
substitutes (e.g.,
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
, margarine, soy ice cream,
soy yogurt Soy yogurt, also referred to as soya yogurt, soygurt or yofu (a portmanteau of yogurt and tofu), is a yogurt-like product made with soy milk. Composition Soy yogurt may have a slight beany soy taste when made directly from freshly prepared s ...
,
soy cheese The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
, and soy cream cheese) and meat alternatives (e.g. veggie burgers). These substitutes are readily available in most supermarkets. Soy milk does not naturally contain significant amounts of digestible
calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
. Many manufacturers of soy milk sell calcium-enriched products, as well. Soy products also are used as a low-cost substitute in meat and poultry products. Food service, retail and institutional (primarily school lunch and correctional) facilities regularly use such "extended" products. Extension may result in diminished flavor, but fat and cholesterol are reduced. Vitamin and mineral fortification can be used to make soy products nutritionally equivalent to animal protein; the protein quality is already roughly equivalent. The soy-based meat substitute
textured vegetable protein Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender ...
has been used for more than 50 years as a way of inexpensively extending
ground beef Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, ...
without reducing its nutritional value.


Soy nut butter

The soybean is used to make a product called soy
nut butter A nut butter is a spreadable foodstuff made by grinding nuts into a paste. The result has a high fat content and can be spread like true butter, but is otherwise unrelated. Nut butters include: * Acorn butter * Almond butter * Cashew butter ...
which is similar in texture to peanut butter.


Sweetened soybean

Sweet boiled beans are popular in Japan and Korea and the sweet boiled soybeans are called as "Daizu no " in Japan and Kongjorim ( ko, 콩조림) in Korea. Sweet boiled beans are even used in sweetened buns, especially in . The boiled and pasted edamame, called , is used as one of the Sweet bean pastes in Japanese confections.


Coffee substitute

Roasted and ground soybeans can be used as a caffeine-free substitute for
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...
. After the soybeans are roasted and ground, they look similar to regular coffee beans or can be used as a powder similar to instant coffee, with aroma and flavor of roasted soybeans.


Other products

Soybeans with black hulls are used in Chinese fermented black beans, ''
douchi ''Douchi'' () or ''tochi'' (also known as fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans (), salted black beans, salty black beans, or just black beans) is a type of fermented and salted black soybean most popular in the cuisine of ...
'', not to be confused with black turtle beans. Soybeans are also used in industrial products, including oils, soap, cosmetics,
resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
s, plastics, inks, crayons,
solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
s, and clothing. Soybean oil is the primary source of
biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
in the United States, accounting for 80% of domestic biodiesel production. Soybeans have also been used since 2001 as fermenting stock in the manufacture of a brand of
vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
. In 1936, Ford Motor Company developed a method where soybeans and fibers were rolled together producing a soup which was then pressed into various parts for their cars, from the distributor cap to knobs on the dash board. Ford also informed in public relation releases that in 1935 over five million acres (20,000 km) was dedicated to growing soybeans in the United States.


Health effects


Reducing risk of cancer

According to the
American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...
, "There is growing evidence that eating traditional soy foods such as tofu may lower the risk of cancers of the breast, prostate, or endometrium (lining of the uterus), and there is some evidence it may lower the risk of certain other cancers." There is insufficient research to indicate whether taking soy
dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
s (e.g., as a pill or capsule) has any effect on health or cancer risk. As of 2018, rigorous dietary
clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...
in people with cancer has proved inconclusive.


Breast cancer

Although considerable research has examined the potential for soy consumption to lower the risk of
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
in women, as of 2016 there is insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion about a relationship between soy consumption and any effects on breast cancer. A 2011
meta-analysis A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
stated: "Our study suggests soy isoflavones intake is associated with a significant reduced risk of breast cancer incidence in Asian populations, but not in Western populations."


Gastrointestinal and colorectal cancer

Reviews of preliminary clinical trials on people with
colorectal The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being ...
or gastrointestinal cancer suggest that soy isoflavones may have a slight protective effect against such cancers.


Prostate cancer

A 2016 review concluded that "current evidence from
observational studies In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences from a sample to a population where the independent variable is not under the control of the researcher because of ethical concern ...
and small clinical trials is not robust enough to understand whether soy protein or isoflavone supplements may help prevent or inhibit the progression of prostate cancer." A 2010 review showed that neither soy foods nor isoflavone supplements alter measures of bioavailable
testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...
or
estrogen Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...
concentrations in men. Soy consumption has been shown to have no effect on the levels and quality of
sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...
.
Meta-analyses A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting m ...
on the association between soy consumption and prostate cancer risk in men concluded that dietary soy may lower the risk of prostate cancer.


Cardiovascular health

The
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA) granted the following health claim for soy: "25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
." One serving, (1 cup or 240 mL) of soy milk, for instance, contains 6 or 7 grams of soy protein. An
American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...
(AHA) review of a decade long study of soy protein benefits did not recommend isoflavone supplementation. The review panel also found that soy isoflavones have not been shown to reduce post-menopausal "hot flashes" and the efficacy and safety of isoflavones to help prevent cancers of the breast, uterus or prostate is in question. AHA concluded that "many soy products should be beneficial to cardiovascular and overall health because of their high content of polyunsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and low content of saturated fat". Other studies found that soy protein consumption could lower
LDL Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall densit ...
.


Soy allergy

Allergy to soy is common, and the food is listed with other foods that commonly cause allergy, such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish. The problem has been reported among younger children, and the diagnosis of soy allergy is often based on symptoms reported by parents and results of skin tests or blood tests for allergy. Only a few reported studies have attempted to confirm allergy to soy by direct challenge with the food under controlled conditions. It is very difficult to give a reliable estimate of the true prevalence of soy allergy in the general population. To the extent that it does exist, soy allergy may cause cases of
urticaria Hives, also known as urticaria, is a kind of skin rash with red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives may burn or sting. The patches of rash may appear on different body parts, with variable duration from minutes to days, and does not leave any long-last ...
and
angioedema Angioedema is an area of swelling ( edema) of the lower layer of skin and tissue just under the skin or mucous membranes. The swelling may occur in the face, tongue, larynx, abdomen, or arms and legs. Often it is associated with hives, which ...
, usually within minutes to hours of ingestion. In rare cases, true
anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follow ...
may also occur. The reason for the discrepancy is likely that soy proteins, the causative factor in
allergy Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...
, are far less potent at triggering allergy symptoms than the proteins of peanut and shellfish. An allergy test that is positive demonstrates that the immune system has formed IgE antibodies to soy proteins. However, this is only a factor when soy proteins reach the blood without being digested, in sufficient quantities to reach a threshold to provoke actual symptoms. Soy can also trigger symptoms via
food intolerance Food intolerance is a detrimental reaction, often delayed, to a food, beverage, food additive, or compound found in foods that produces symptoms in one or more body organs and systems, but generally refers to reactions other than food allergy. Fo ...
, a situation where no allergic mechanism can be proven. One scenario is seen in very young infants who have vomiting and
diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...
when fed soy-based formula, which resolves when the formula is withdrawn. Older infants can suffer a more severe disorder with vomiting, diarrhoea that may be bloody,
anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...
, weight loss and failure to thrive. The most common cause of this unusual disorder is a sensitivity to cow's milk, but soy formulas can also be the trigger. The precise mechanism is unclear and it could be immunologic, although not through the IgE-type antibodies that have the leading role in urticaria and anaphylaxis. However, it is also self-limiting and will often disappear in the
toddler A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...
years. In the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, identifying the presence of soy either as an ingredient or unintended contaminant in packaged food is compulsory. The regulation (EC) 1169/2011 on food-labeling lists 14 allergens, including soy, in packaged food must be clearly indicated on the label as part of the list of ingredients, using a distinctive typography (such as bold type or capital letters).


Thyroid function

One review noted that soy-based foods may inhibit absorption of thyroid hormone medications required for treatment of hypothyroidism. A 2015 scientific review by the
European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...
concluded that intake of isoflavones from supplements did not affect thyroid hormone levels in
postmenopausal Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...
women.


Research by constituent


Lignans

Plant
lignans The lignans are a large group of low molecular weight polyphenols found in plants, particularly seeds, whole grains, and vegetables. The name derives from the Latin word for "wood". Lignans are precursors to phytoestrogens. They may play a role ...
are associated with high fiber foods such as cereal brans and beans are the principal precursor to mammalian lignans which have an ability to bind to human estrogen sites. Soybeans are a significant source of mammalian lignan precursor
secoisolariciresinol Secoisolariciresinol is an organic compound. It is classified as a lignan, i.e., a type of phenylpropanoid. It is present in some cereals, e.g. rye, and together with matairesinol, has attracted much attention for its beneficial nutritional effec ...
containing 13–273 µg/100 g dry weight.


Phytochemicals

Soybeans and processed soy foods are among the richest foods in total
phytoestrogen A phytoestrogen is a plant-derived xenoestrogen (see estrogen) not generated within the endocrine system, but consumed by eating plants or manufactured foods. Also called a "dietary estrogen", it is a diverse group of naturally occurring nonstero ...
s (wet basis per 100 g), which are present primarily in the form of the
isoflavone Isoflavones are substituted derivatives of isoflavone, a type of naturally occurring isoflavonoids, many of which act as phytoestrogens in mammals. Isoflavones are produced almost exclusively by the members of the bean family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae ...
s,
daidzein Daidzein (7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one) is a naturally occurring compound found exclusively in soybeans and other legumes and structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones. Daidzein and other isoflavones ar ...
and
genistein Genistein (C15H10O5) is a naturally occurring compound that structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones. It is described as an angiogenesis inhibitor and a phytoestrogen. It was first isolated in 1899 from the dyer's bro ...
. Because most naturally occurring phytoestrogens act as
selective estrogen receptor modulators Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), also known as estrogen receptor agonist/antagonists (ERAAs), are a class of drugs that act on the estrogen receptor (ER). A characteristic that distinguishes these substances from pure ER agonists a ...
, or SERMs, which do not necessarily act as direct agonists of estrogen receptors, normal consumption of foods that contain these phytoestrogens should not provide sufficient amounts to elicit a physiological response in humans. The major product of daidzein microbial metabolism is
equol Equol (4',7-isoflavandiol) is an isoflavandiolThe structures of 7,4’-dihydroxy-isoflavan and its precursors is shown iStructural Elucidation of Hydroxylated Metabolites of the Isoflavan Equol by GC/MS and HPLC/MSby Corinna E. Rüfer, Hansruedi G ...
. Only 33% of Western Europeans have a
microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well ...
that produces equol, compared to 50–55% of Asians. Soy isoflavones—
polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...
ic compounds that are also produced by other legumes like peanuts and chickpeas—are under preliminary research. As of 2016, no
cause-and-effect Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the ca ...
relationship has been shown in
clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...
to indicate that soy isoflavones lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.


Phytic acid

Soybeans contain phytic acid, which may act as a
chelating agent Chelation is a type of bonding of ions and molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand and a single central metal atom. These ligands ar ...
and inhibit mineral absorption, especially for diets already low in minerals.


In culture

Although observations of soy consumption having a feminization effect on men are not conclusive, a pejorative term, "
soy boy ''Soy boy'' is a pejorative term sometimes used in online communities to describe men perceived to be lacking masculine characteristics. The term bears many similarities and has been compared to the slang terms '' cuck'' (derived from cuckold), ...
", has emerged to describe perceived emasculated young men with
feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...
traits.


Futures

Soybean
futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded * ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures'' (album), a ...
are traded on the Chicago Board of Trade and have delivery dates in January (F), March (H), May (K), July (N), August (Q), September (U), November (X). They are also traded on other commodity futures exchanges under different contract specifications: * SAFEX:
The South African Futures Exchange The South African Futures Exchange (Safex) is the futures exchange subsidiary of JSE Limited, the Johannesburg-based exchange. It consists of two divisions; a financial markets division for trading of equity derivatives and an agricultural marke ...
* DC:
Dalian Commodity Exchange The Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) () is a Chinese futures exchange based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China. It is a non-profit, self-regulating and membership legal entity established on February 28, 1993. Dalian Commodity Exchange trades in ...
* ODE: Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange (formerly Kansai Commodities Exchange, KEX) in Japan * NCDEX: National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, India. * ROFEX: Rosario Grain Exchange in Argentina


See also

* Alternative fodders * Cash crop *
List of soy-based foods This is a list of soy-based foods. The soybean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a pulse by the UN Food and Agriculture Organizatio ...
*
Organic infant formula Organic infant formulas are synthetic substitutes to natural breast milk. United States requirements Organic formulas manufactured in the United States must meet specific conditions regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, the ...
* Soy molasses *
Soybean in Paraguay In recent years, the soybean industry has grown exponentially in South America, primarily in Brazil and Argentina (South America’s two largest countries) and Uruguay and Paraguay. Paraguay has benefitted from the results of this explosive growth ...
*
Soybean management practices Soybean management practices in farming are the decisions a producer must make in order to raise a soybean crop. The type of tillage, plant population, row spacing, and planting date are four major management decisions that soybean farmers must cons ...
*
Soybean agglutinin Soybean agglutinins (SBA) also known as soy bean lectins (SBL) are lectins found in soybeans. It is a family of similar legume lectins. As a lectin, it is an antinutrient that chelates minerals. In human foodstuffs, less than half of this lect ...
, a lectin


References

* {{Authority control Chinese cuisine Crops Crops originating from China Edible legumes Energy crops Nitrogen-fixing crops Glycine (plant) Fiber plants Fodder Japanese cuisine Korean cuisine Phaseoleae
Soy products The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...
Taxa named by Elmer Drew Merrill