Know your world of Soybeans

Know your world of Soybeans

Soybeans are native to southeast Asia, but 45 percent of the world's soybean area, and 55 percent of production, is in the United States. The U.S. produced 75 million metric tons of soybeans in 2000, of which more than one-third was exported. Other leading producers are Brazil, Argentina, China, and India.

Environmental groups, such as Greenpeace and the WWF, have reported that both soybean cultivation and the threat to increase soybean cultivation in Brazil is destroying huge areas of Amazon rainforest and encouraging deforestation. American soil scientist, Dr. Andrew McClung, who first showed that the infertile Cerrado region of Brazil could grow soybeans, was awarded the 2006 World Food Prize on October 19, 2006.

The first research on soybeans in the United States was conducted by George Washington Carver at Tuskegee, Alabama, but he decided it was too exotic a crop for the poor black farmers of the South so he turned his attention to peanuts. Peanuts, soybeans, or other legume plants that would replenish the soil with nitrogen and minerals were planted for two years and then cotton on the third year. A two year rotation system alternating maize instead is also a possibility.

Production history

Soybean domestication first occurred in China. Ancient Chinese documents state that soybean agriculture began during the Zhou Dynasty in 664 BC. and was introduced to the Zhou heartland from the Manchuria Plain. Archaeologists recovered soybean from a site in Jilin Province and dated charcoal associated with the legume to cal. 900–520 BC.

However, the earliest known soybeans were unearthed from archaeological sites in Korea. For example, AMS radiocarbon dating on soybean recovered through flotation during excavations at the Early Mumun Period Okbang site in Korea clearly indicates that soybean was cultivated as a food crop in cal. 1000–900 BC.

Although the Korean peninsula is usually considered to be an area of secondary agricultural origins, similar research on Azuki bean indicates that, in addition to Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula was an early centre of importance related to the domestication and early cultivation of legumes. The best current evidence on the Japanese Archipelago suggests that soybean cultivation occurred in the early Yayoi period.

Genetic modification

Soybeans are one of the "biotech food" crops that are being genetically modified, and GM soybeans are being used in an increasing number of products. In 1995 Monsanto introduced "Roundup Ready" (RR) soybeans that have had a copy of a gene from the bacterium, Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4, inserted, by means of a gene gun, into its genome that allows the transgenic plant to survive being sprayed by this non-selective herbicide, glyphosate. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, kills conventional soybeans.

The bacterial gene is EPSP (5-enolpyruvyl shikimic acid-3-phosphate) synthase. Soybean also has a version of this gene, but the soybean version is sensitive to glyphosate, while the CP4 version is not.

RR soybeans allow a farmer to spray widely the herbicide Roundup and so to reduce tillage or even to sow the seed directly into an unplowed field, known as 'no-till' or conservation tillage. No-till agriculture has many advantages, greatly reducing soil erosion and creating better wildlife habitat; it also saves fossil fuels, and sequesters CO2, a greenhouse effect gas. It must be said, however, that the production and use of an artificial herbicide such as Roundup does consume significant quantities of fossil fuels and does not improve wildlife habitat since it is designed specifically to kill most plants.

In 1997, about 8% of all soybeans cultivated for the commercial market in the United States were genetically modified. In 2006, the figure was 89%. As with other "Roundup Ready" crops, concern is expressed over damage to biodiversity. However, the RR gene has been bred into so many different soybean cultivars that the genetic modification itself has not resulted in any decline of genetic diversity.

Uses

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 and soymilk 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 they have a tendency for the pods to shatter on reaching maturity.

Among the legumes, the soybean, also classed as an oilseed, is pre-eminent for its high (38–45%) protein content as well as its high (20%) oil content. Soybeans are the leading agricultural export in the United States. The bulk of the soybean crop is grown for oil production, with the high-protein defatted and "toasted" soy meal used as livestock feed. A smaller percentage of soybeans are used directly for human consumption.

Soybeans may be boiled whole in their green pod and served with salt, under the Japanese name edamame. Soybeans prepared this way are a popular local snack in Hawaii, and are becoming increasingly popular in the continental United States. Because of the proclaimed health benefits of soy, edamame has been featured as an ideal snack alternative in fitness and healthy living magazines such as Real Simple. Edamame is sold in the frozen vegetable section at some larger grocery stores, and as ready-to-eat snackfood in many Asian delis.

In China, Japan, and Korea the bean and products made from the bean are a popular part of the diet. Japanese foods made from soya include: miso, natto, tofu and edamame. In Korean cuisine, soybean sprouts, called kongnamul (hangul are also used in a variety of dishes such as doenjang, cheonggukjang and ganjang, .

The beans can be processed in a variety of ways. Common forms of soy (or soya) include soy meal, soy flour, "soy milk", tofu, textured vegetable protein (TVP, which is made into a wide variety of vegetarian foods, some of them intended to imitate meat), tempeh, soy lecithin and soybean oil. Soybeans are also the primary ingredient involved in the production of soy sauce (or shoyu).

Soybeans grow throughout Asia and North and South America.Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is among the largest processors of soybeans and soy products. ADM along with DOW, DuPont and Monsanto support the industry trade associations United Soybean Board (USB) and Soyfoods Association of North America (SANA). These trade associations have increased the consumption of soy products dramatically in recent years.

Oil

In processing soybeans for oil extraction and subsequent soy flour production, selection of high quality, sound, clean, dehulled yellow soybeans is very important. Soybeans having a dark colored seed coat, or even beans with a dark hilum will inadvertently leave dark specks in the flour, an undesirable factor when used in food products. All commercial soybeans in the United States are yellow or yellow brown.

To produce soybean oil, 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. The remaining soybean husks are used mainly as animal feed.

The major unsaturated fatty acids in soybean oil triglycerides are 7% linolenic acid (C18:3); 51% linoleic acid (C-18:2); and 23% oleic acid(C-18:1). It also contains the saturated fatty acids 4%stearic acid and 10% palmitic acid.

Soybean oil has a relatively high proportion, 7–10%, of oxidation prone linolenic acid, which is an undesirable property for continuous service, such as in a restaurant. In the early nineties, Iowa State University developed soybean oil with 1% linolenic acid in the oil. Three companies, Monsanto, DuPont/Bunge, and Asoyia in 2004 introduced low linolenic, (C18:3; cis-9, cis-12, cis-15 octadecatrienoic acid) Roundup Ready soybeans. In the past hydrogenation reduced the unsaturation in linolenic acid but produced the unnatural trans fatty acid trans fat configuration whereas in nature the configuration is cis.

In the 2002–2003 growing season, 30.6 million metric tons of soybean oil were produced worldwide, constituting about half of worldwide edible vegetable oil production, and thirty percent of all fats and oils produced, including animal fats and oils derived from tropical plants.

Soybean oil has also been found effective as an insect repellent in some studies[13] [14]. The commercial product Bite Blocker contains soybean oil as one active ingredient.

Courtesy: http://www.soyasource.in/