soy

n.

1. The soybean.
2. Soy sauce.

[Dutch soja, soya, from Japanese shōyu, from Chinese (Mandarin) jiàngyóu, soy sauce : jiàng, soy paste + yóu, sauce.]

The symbiosis between the soy plant and Rhizobium bacteria in the soil underlies the soybean's success as a major source of protein for human populations in Asia and domesticated animals in many countries, as well as an important renewer of land fertility in traditional agriculture. Rhizombium bacteria enter the root hairs of the soy plant (and those of other legumes), helping to form nodules where they feed on the plant's carbon supply. In exchange, the bacteria convert atomospheric nitrogen gas in the soil to ammonium, rendering the nitrogen accessible to the soy plant for use in protein synthesis. The resulting soybean is high in amino acids in ratios that make it, when compared to other known plant sources of protein, strikingly "complete" as a human food. Additional benefits are imparted when legumes such as soy decay. Bioavailable nitrogen is released into the soil, becoming accessible to other plants that lack symbiotic relationships with nitrogen fixing bacteria. Soy and other legumes have therefore played a crucial role in crop–rotation farming, contributing to the growth of other crops and pasturelands. Soybeans are also high in oil content, and in the latter twentieth century became the world's top source of edible oil.

Physical Characteristics of the Soy Plant

Erect and bushy, the soybean plant can grow to over six feet high. It has ovate leaflets in groups of three; white, purple, or pinkish self–fertilizing flowers; and one to five beans in each pod. As with other legumes, at maturity the pod bursts open on both sides to expose the beans. Beans range in size from 1 to 3.5 centimeters or more and can be yellow, green, brown, black, reddish, or bicolored; their variations offer mute testimony to generations of selective breeding. The beans are 15 to 20 percent oil, and 35 to 45 percent protein, depending on the variety and farming conditions.

Timing of the soy plant's maturation is highly sensitive to day length; each variety requires a specific span of darkness to induce flowering. Known as photoperiodicity, this phenomenon makes the optimal choices of varieties different for each latitude where soybeans are grown. Soy's extreme photoperiodicity, along with its vulnerability to frost, probably slowed the early spread of its cultivation in China. Under the right conditions for any given variety, however, soy is a reliable crop that tolerates poorer soils. For this reason, in ancient China it was deemed invaluable as protection against famine should other crops fail.

Soy also has nutritional virtues beyond its protein and oil. Although their nutritional value varies with the growing conditions, in general the beans provide modest levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin, other B–complex vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron.

Origins, Domestication, and Diffusion of Soy

The soybean, Glycine max, is a cultigen that apparently does not exist in the wild. Botanists believe its wild ancestor was Glycine ussuriensis, a vine native to Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the north–central and far northern areas of eastern China, and adjacent areas of Russia. Chinese legend has it that sometime between about 2800 and 2400 B.C.E., the Emperor Shen Nung, father of Chinese agriculture, first extolled the virtues of the soybean in writing. Contemporary sinologists believe, however, that Shen Nung's famous treatise—indeed, Shen Nung himself—are the inventions of a much later era. As Theodore Hymowitz details in his "On the Domestication of the Soybean," botanical, archaeological, and linguistic research suggest instead that the trial-and-error process of domesticating soy began during the Shang Dynasty (circa 1600 B.C.E.–1027 B.C.E.), and that Glycine max did not emerge as a successful domesticate until the eleventh century B.C.E., probably in the north-central section of eastern China.

Soy cultivation gradually spread; evidence suggests that by the first century C.E., it had reached northern Manchuria, Korea, central and south China, and northern Vietnam. The expansion and contraction of Chinese dynasties was probably instrumental in this spread, as were the activities of Buddhist missionaries, who encouraged soybean cultivation as an expression of their vegetarianism. Buddhists were also the likely agents of early soy cultivation in Japan, beginning around the sixth century C.E. The emigration of ethnic Thais from China during the seventh century C.E. spread soy agriculture to present-day Thailand; traffic along the Silk Road brought soy to the northern Indian subcontinent in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Between the first century C.E. and the sixteenth, soy was also introduced to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Burma, and Nepal.

In the twentieth century, the bulk of the world's soybean production shifted to the New World. Although soy was first cultivated in what is now the United States in 1765, it was not a leading U.S. crop until World War II. In the 1970s, South American nations also began expanding soy production. Today the primary growers are the United States, which produces about half the world's supply, Brazil, China, and Argentina.

Developments in Soy Agriculture—demand and Supply

Demand. Unless adequately processed, mature soybeans are difficult for humans to digest and contain antinutritive components. In early centuries, the Chinese considered soybeans important yet undesirable—poor man's food. But once they learned to make palatable and nutritious processed soy products, beginning around the third century B.C.E., demand for soy increased. For centuries, however, the demand for soybeans in Asia had little influence elsewhere.

In the 1920s, soy oil was used in the United States for industrial purposes; by the late 1930s, research was improving its flavor for American palates. At that time, the oil was lucrative; the protein meal was a cheap by-product fed to animals. During World War II, with imports of foreign vegetable oils cut off, the U.S. government promoted a huge expansion of soybean harvesting. Although the oil commanded a higher price per pound, the enormous surplus of meal came to provide more overall profits as Americans—and gradually people in developed countries worldwide—began to eat far more meat than ever before.

Today some 95 percent of the soy meal used in the United States is consumed by meat-, egg-or dairy-producing animals. This pattern is repeated in numerous countries that import soy from the United States, such as Mexico and in Europe. Even in Japan, where soy protein is an integral part of human diets, more soy is used for animal feed than for human consumption.

Supply. Early in the twentieth century, the development of tractors and combines made profitable, large–scale soy farming possible in America. A system was developed for storing soybeans at the right conditions of temperature and moisture at processing plants and in giant grain elevators; the Mississippi River became a crucial artery for soy exports. Soy agriculture worldwide has benefited as well from research on managing pests and diseases, including programs for breeding pest-resistant varieties.

Breeding programs have also been critical to the success of soy farming in varying growing conditions and for various desired traits (for example, higher oil or protein content), beginning with Asian farmers' patient work over centuries. More recently, plant breeders developed varieties tolerant of equatorial latitudes, making cultivation of soy in tropical Brazil profitable.

Since 1996, soy genetically modified with a gene from bacteria has become popular among farmers in the United States and Argentina. This soy is engineered to tolerate the Monsanto company's herbicide, Roundup, enabling farmers to use the herbicide easily without killing their crop. In the year 2000, over 50 percent of soy acreage in the United States was planted with "Roundup Ready" (RR) soy; it is currently the most grown genetically modified (GM) crop in the world.

RR soy is present in minute quantities in a wide array of American processed foods. Nutritionist critics worry that it could provoke allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, although to date there is virtually no scientific evidence of such a problem. Environmentalists fear that the gene for resistance to Roundup could "jump" to other plants, creating superweeds. Although some scientific evidence may support this concern, so far the problem has not materialized. Prestigious organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences have called for more government supervision of GM crops, however. There is, as well, a small but growing market for organic, non–GM soy used to make foods high in soy protein ("soyfoods"), both in the United States and in other developed nations.

Modern Trade in Soy

In the early twentieth century, Europe and the United States imported Manchurian soybeans for oil. Beginning in 1930, however, tariffs protected the American soybean industry. Gradually, soybeans (whole, as meal, and as oil) became the America's primary agricultural export; currently almost half the U.S. crop is sent abroad. This trade is controlled by a handful of powerful international grain companies. The expansion of U.S. (and Argentine) soy exports for human consumption is, however, hampered by concern in Europe (and to a lesser extent Japan) over the safety of GM soy; Brazilian soy is often preferred in these markets. Meanwhile, U.S. soy is making major inroads in the Chinese market, particularly with the entry of China into the World Trade Organization.

Processing Soy for Different Cuisines

Processing whole soy. In Asia, soy is prepared in many forms. Immature soybeans simmered in their pods (Japanese edamame) and sprouts from soybeans germinated in darkness are two vegetable uses. Soymilk is made by adding water to the beans, grinding and heating them, and filtering out the "milk"; in recent decades it has become quite popular in parts of Asia as a noncarbonated soft drink. Yuba is the thin protein film that forms on the surface of hot soymilk; skimmed off and sold in sheets, it is a delicacy in China and Japan. Tofu is made by curdling hot soymilk with a salt or acid coagulant and then pressing the whey out of the curd. Subsequent processing of tofu can include freezing, freeze-drying, deep-frying, or grilling, yielding different textures, flavors, and nutrient profiles. Okara is the pulp that remains after filtration of soymilk. It can be pickled or cooked with meat in stews. Soynuts are whole roasted soybeans consumed as a snack; when ground into a powder, they are used in pastry-making (China, Japan) or eaten with rice (Japan, Indonesia).

Asian societies have also developed many fermented soy products, including fermented tofu (sufu, or "Chinese cheese") and fermented okara. Fermentation increases soy's digestibility, preserves soy for long periods, and, crucially, provides flavoring to stimulate the appetite. Many fermentation processes use Aspergillus fungi, salt-loving yeasts, and lactic acid bacteria. Products include soy paste fermented with or without wheat, barley, or rice (for example, jiang in China; red, white, yellow, or brown miso in Japan); soy sauce, which is made from soy and wheat (either by fermentation or chemically); fermented soy nuggets ("salted black beans")^; tempeh, an Indonesian soy cake fermented with Rhizopus mold, served as a main dish, and—when prepared in the traditional manner—often high in vitamin B₁₂ from bacteria exposure during processing; and natto, a sweet, slippery, bacteria–fermented Japanese soybean dish served with soy sauce, mustard, and rice for breakfast or dinner.

In North America there is a small but growing market for soy products. Among those made from whole soybeans, the popularity of flavored soymilks and tofu is complemented by the marketing to vegetarians and health-conscious consumers of Western-style soyfoods such as soy yogurt, frozen soy desserts, and (unfermented) imitation cheese made from soy. In addition, full-fat soy flour is widely used commercially to bleach wheat flour and to condition doughs for Western-style breads.

Processing soy oil. Oil is extracted from soybeans either via chemical solvents such as hexane (the modern technique usually employed in developed countries) or by screw press (a lower-yield technique used at small extraction plants worldwide). Large processors refine the oil using techniques developed beginning in the 1940s. The removal of lecithin (itself used in many food applications—for instance as an emulsifier in chocolates) and other impurities is followed by bleaching and deodorization. The oil is then ready for use in salads and for home cooking. If hydrogenation is performed to enhance solidity and shelf life, soy oil can be blended with other oils to make margarine stock or shortening, including shortening for commercial deep-fat frying. Soy oil is also widely used in American prepared salad dressings and mayonnaises. Indeed, in the United States soy is by far the most commonly used oil in each of these applications. It is becoming increasingly popular worldwide because of its cheap price and high quality.

Processing defatted soy protein. Use of defatted soy protein has gone hand in hand with the development of large-scale hexane extraction of oil from the beans. Hexane, an organic solvent, dissolves the oil, thereby separating it from the soy protein. The hexane is then steamed out of the protein. Once desolventized, the protein is suitable for further refinement and processing into food-grade soy flakes, grits, defatted flour, concentrates (containing at least 70 percent protein), and isolates (containing at least 90 percent protein). Such products are used (1) in very small quantities as "functional" ingredients to improve the textures of a vast array of processed foods, including baked goods, soups, whipped toppings, and lunch meats; (2) as meat extenders in dishes for institutions such as schools and the armed forces; (3) as nutrition enhancers in products touted for their health benefits, such as protein-fortified breakfast cereals, weight-loss beverages, and "energy bars"; and (4) as the primary ingredient in dairy and meat substitutes ("analogs"). While some brands of dairy analogs are made directly from whole soybeans, others are made from defatted soy protein ingredients (or both). Those using defatted soy protein include some imitation cheeses, some frozen soy desserts, and soy infant formulas. Americanstyle meat analogs, pioneered by scientists working for Henry Ford and by vegetarian Seventh Day Adventists, include soy burgers, steaks, "chicken," hot dogs, sausage, "bacon" bits, and lunch meats.

National Differences in Amounts of Soy Protein Consumed

Data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization indicate that in 1999, North Koreans derived more daily protein per capita from soy than people in any other country (9.4 grams), followed by the Japanese (8.7 grams), Indonesians (7.2 grams), South Koreans (6.5 grams), and Chinese (5.1 grams). The many thousands of small tofu shops scattered throughout Japan, similar to bakeries in France, illustrate the dietary and cultural importance of soy protein to that society.

The rest of the world for which data are available had much lower rates of consumption in 1999, although some developing countries (for example, Libya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Costa Rica) have significantly increased their consumption in recent years. Average U.S. daily intake during that year was tiny but growing rapidly. Market studies suggest that soyfood sales are currently increasing at a rate of 30 percent per year in the United States.

Research on Soy's Health Benefits

Soy is the only commonly eaten food containing high levels of isoflavones—compounds similar to human estrogen that have hormonelike effects. In the past decade, hundreds of scientific studies have examined the potential of isoflavones and other components of soy to reduce cancer risks, reverse tumor growth, prevent osteoporosis, mitigate unpleasant symptoms of menopause, and decrease the risk of heart disease. Findings in many areas are still equivocal, but results have been promising with regard to prostate cancer and, especially, heart disease. In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted manufacturers of foods meeting certain criteria to make claims on food labels linking consumption of soy protein to a potentially reduced risk of heart disease.

Ironically, while soy protein holds promise as a disease-fighting food of the future, and although natural, unhydrogenated soy oil has healthful properties, the hundreds of millions of pounds of hydrogenated soy oil used yearly in the United States to deep-fry fast foods contribute to high cholesterol levels and a national epidemic of obesity.

Future Directions for Soy

Many new varieties of soy are being developed, as conventional breeders and biotechnology companies focus on improving soy to benefit not only farmers, but also processors and consumers. Desired characteristics include improved shelf life and flavor of the oil; enhanced functional qualities of the oil for commercial food processing; improved nutritional profile for the oil or the protein; elimination of antinutritive elements and flatulence causing compounds; and reduction of soy's "beany" flavor. The new varieties are in differing stages of development; for some strains, the economic motivator is the improvement of animal feed or even the mitigation of environmental pollution caused by waste from animals fed conventional varieties. But much of the research has potential application to human foods.

Cultivating soybeans as a protein source for human foods is a significantly more efficient way to provide a population with protein than is raising mammals for meat: in the late 1990s, a pig raised in the United States required over three pounds of feed to produce a single pound of meat; a chicken required about two pounds. For this reason, soy has much greater potential than meat to provide critical protein to the world's hungry. The only flesh foods that currently approach soy's efficiency for protein production are farmed fish.

Development workers have labored, with varying degrees of success, to introduce soybeans into the cuisines of protein-deficient populations. For example, the International Soybean Program (INTSOY) of the University of Illinois has worked extensively in Egypt, the U.S. Peace Corps has introduced soyfoods in Malawi, and the Mennonite Central Committee has had a long-term soyfoods project in Bangladesh. Since according to United Nations estimates world population will grow by some four billion in the twenty-first century, such efforts will surely increase.

Bibliography

Carter, T. E., Jr., and S. Shanmugasundaram. "Vegetable Soybean (Glycine)." In Pulses and Vegetable, edited by J. T. Williams. New York: Chapman & Hall, 1993. Discusses soy, including such agronomic characteristics as photoperiodicity.

Du Bois, Christine M. "A Specific Legume Case: History of Soy and Soy Protein Products in the USA." Presentation for the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future's "Dietary Protein: Options for the Future" conference, 2001. Published online with references and bibliography available at http://www.jhsph.edu/environment/CLF_conferences/Dietary_Feb01.html.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. www.fao.org. "Food Balance Sheets" indicating consumption levels can be found in the "Statistical Databases" section available at http://apps.fao.org/.

Huang, Hsing-Tsung. Fermentations and Food Science. Volume 6, Part 5 of Science and Civilisation in China, edited by Joseph Needham. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2000. This volume contains 86 pages on the history of soyfoods in China, drawing on literary texts, archaeology, and comparisons with present-day techniques.

Hymowitz, Theodore. "On the Domestication of the Soybean." Economic Botany 24 (1970): 408–421. Uses genetic data, literary sources, and archaeology to trace the history of soy's domestication. Available online at http://www.nsrl.uiuc.edu/GeneralInfo/historybeans.html.

Hymowitz, Theodore, and C. A. Newell. "Taxonomy of the Genus Glycine, Domestication and Uses of Soybeans." Economic Botany 35(3) (1981): 272–288. Covers history of taxonomic research and deliberations, domestication and diffusion of soybeans, and food uses in Asia and the West.

Johnson, L A., D. J. Myers, and D. J. Burden. "Soy Protein's History, Prospects in Food, Feed." International News on Fats, Oils, and Related Materials 3(4) (1992): 429–444. History of how soy protein has been used in the West.

Liu, KeShun. Soybeans: Chemistry, Technology, and Utilization. New York: Chapman & Hall, 1997. Covers agronomy; marketing; biochemistry; nutrition and health benefits; storage; preparation of Asian and Western soyfoods; genetic engineering.

Mintz, Sidney W., and Chee Beng Tan. "Bean-curd Consumption in Hong Kong." Ethnology 40(2) (2001): 113–128. Ethnographic survey. Details types of bean curd and related products, their production and retailing, and consumption patterns.

Shurtleff, William, and Akiko Aoyagi. The Book of Tofu. New York: Ballantine Books, 1979. Revised edition. Covers history, cultural importance, processing techniques, and recipes for tofu, okara, soymilk, and yuba.

Soya & Oilseed Bluebook. Bar Harbor, Maine: Soyatech, Inc., 2000. Annual directory of companies in soy and other oilseed industries.

Warnken, Philip F. The Development and Growth of the SoybeanIndustry in Brazil. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1999. Covers place of soy in the overall economy, production trends and programs, and future directions.

World Soybean Research Conference VI Proceedings. Chicago, Ill.: University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign and Soybean Research & Development Council, 1999. Compiled by Harold E. Kauffman. Covers the state of soybean industries worldwide; biotechnology; breeding; and health issues.

—Christine Madeleine Du Bois; Sidney W. Mintz

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 4 meanings:

Meaning #1: a source of oil; used for forage and soil improvement and as food
  Synonyms: soybean, soyabean

Meaning #2: erect bushy hairy annual herb having trifoliate leaves and purple to pink flowers; extensively cultivated for food and forage and soil improvement but especially for its nutritious oil-rich seeds; native to Asia
  Synonyms: soya, soybean, soya bean, soybean plant, soja, soja bean, Glycine max

Meaning #3: thin sauce made of fermented soy beans
  Synonym: soy sauce

Meaning #4: most highly proteinaceous vegetable crop known
  Synonym: soybean

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - soja

idioms:

• soy bean    sojabønne
• soy sauce    sojasovs

Nederlands (Dutch)
soja

Français (French)
n. - soja

idioms:

• soy bean    fève de soja
• soy sauce    sauce de soja

Deutsch (German)
n. - Soja, Sojasoße

idioms:

• soy bean    Sojabohne
• soy sauce    Sojasoße

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σάλτσα σόγιας, φασόλι σόγιας

idioms:

• soy bean    φασόλι σόγιας
• soy sauce    σάλτσα σόγιας

Italiano (Italian)
soia

idioms:

• soy bean    soia
• soy sauce    salsa di soia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - soja (m)

idioms:

• soy bean    feijão-soja (m)
• soy sauce    molho de soja (m)

Русский (Russian)
соя, соевый соус

idioms:

• soy bean    соевый боб
• soy sauce    соевый соус

Español (Spanish)
n. - soja, soya

idioms:

• soy bean    semilla de soja
• soy sauce    salsa de soja

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - soja

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
酱油, 大豆

idioms:

• soy bean    大豆
• soy sauce    酱油

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 醬油, 大豆

idioms:

• soy bean    大豆
• soy sauce    醬油

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 간장

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 醤油, 大豆

idioms:

• soy bean    大豆
• soy sauce    醤油

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صلصه فول ألصويا, فول ألصويا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סויה, פולי-סויה‬

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soy	soy milk
Soy Isoflavone	Soy Milk Maker Comparison