INTRODUCTION:
Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most widely cultivated and economically important crops in the world. Its high protein and oil content make it a valuable source of food and feed, while its versatility and industrial uses make it a crucial component of the global economy. This research paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of soybean, including its history, botany, nutritional value, and industrial applications.
HISTORY OF SOYBEAN:
Soybean has a long and rich history that dates back thousands of years. It is believed to have originated in East Asia, specifically in China, where it was first cultivated for its edible seeds and medicinal properties. Over time, soybean cultivation spread to other parts of Asia, including Japan and Korea, where it became a staple food crop.
The first soybean plants were introduced to Europe in the late 19th century, and by the early 20th century, soybean cultivation had spread to the Americas. Today, soybean is grown in many parts of the world, with the United States, Brazil, and Argentina among the top global producers.
BOTANY OF SOYBEAN:
Soybean is a member of the Fabaceae family and is an annual herbaceous plant that can reach a height of 1 to 2 meters. It has a branching stem, trifoliate leaves, and yellow or purple flowers. The flowers are followed by pods that contain seeds, which are surrounded by a thin, edible layer called the cotyledon.
Soybean is a hardy plant that can grow in a wide range of climates and soil types. However, it is particularly well-suited to temperate regions and prefers well-drained, fertile soils. Soybean is a self-fertilizing plant, but it can also be cross-pollinated with other soybean varieties to produce new cultivars with improved traits.
THE REMARKABLE BENEFITS OF SOYA BEAN OIL
CONTROLS CHOLESTROL LEVEL:
Soya bean oil can decrease your chances of getting atherosclerosis and other heart condition such as heart attack and strokes. The good balance of fatty acids contained in soya bean oil mean that the body can get the important and necessary fatty acids, including those that regulate cholesterol levels.
Omega-3 fatty acid can reduce dangerous cholesterol levels and counteract the dangerous types.
Furthermore, other fatty acid such as stearic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid are also found in balanced quantities.
The fatty acid composition of soy bean oil, as well as the powerful cholesterol sterols, such as B-sitosterol can cause a reduction in cholesterol storage in the gut by 10 to 15% _ not what you would normally expect to hear from a fatty acid.
Another important function of vitamin K is its osteotropic potential, which mean that it can stimulate the regrowth or promote the healing of bones. While this is often associated with calcium, vitamin K (of which soy bean have plenty) can also stimulate bone development in a very positive way. Therefore, make sure you switch to soy bean oil if you want to prevent conditions such as osteoporosis, which is often a natural result of the ageing process.
IMPROVES VISION:
Omega-3 fatty acids, which make up approximately 7% of the total fatty acid content in soy bean oil, help to protect cell membranes. This includes the very fragile and dangerous areas of the skin and eyes, both of which are common entry points for bacteria and other foreign material. These acids also promote better vision by acting as antioxidants and neutralizing free radicals that can cause macular degeneration and cataracts.
SKINCARE:
The high vitamin E content in soy bean oil also act as a powerful antioxidant while similarly protecting the skin from damage caused by free radicals. Vitamin E is directly associated with improving the appearance of blemishes, reducing acne scarring, protecting the skin against sunburn, and stimulating the regrowth of new skin cells to promote healing. Vitamin E is also associated with general antioxidant activity in the rest of the body, which boosts the immune system and helps to eliminate free radicals that cause conditions such as cancer, premature ageing, cognitive disorders, and heart diseases.
NUTRITIONAL IMPORTANCE OF SOYBEAN:
Soybeans are a highly nutritious food that are a great source of a few important nutrients, including
Ø Protein: Soybeans are an excellent source of high-quality plant-based protein, which is important for building and repairing tissues, as well as for maintaining a healthy immune system.
Ø Fiber: Soybeans are a good source of dietary fiber, which helps to promote digestive health and reduce the risk of constipation.
Ø Fatty acids: Soybeans contain both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, which are important for heart health.
Ø Vitamins and minerals: Soybeans are a good source of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and potassium.
Ø Antioxidants: Soybeans contain antioxidants, such as isoflavones, which help to protect the body from damage by free radicals.
Ø Phytochemicals: Soybeans are a good source of phytochemicals, including isoflavones, which have been shown to have a few health benefits, including reducing the risk of certain cancers and improving bone health.
ECONOMICS OF SOYBEAN
• GLOBAL TRADE OF SOYBEAN:
Global soybean trade flows are a gargantuan business worth over 58 billion US$ (current) in 2017, with an additional 23 billion for soybean meal trade and 9 billion for soybean oil. As a comparison, the rice trade in the same year totaled 20.2 billion US$ in value. The wheat trade, with an estimated value of 42.6 billion US$, was worth about twice as much the rice one, but it was still about 16-billion-short compared to international soybean flows11. The current geography of soybean international trade flows is massively concentrated around two ‘magnetic’ poles. On the one hand, the Americas represent the export (and production) pole, with most of the soybean traded internationally originating from the US, Brazil and Argentina. On the other hand, the import (and consumption) pole is situated in Asia – which attracted as a continent about 80% of global import flows in 2017, with China playing the lion’s share. China’s soybean production remained constant in the last two decades, while its consumption levels increased constantly in the same period, giving the opportunity to foreign exporter countries to close this gap.
In 1997, about two every three beans of soy in the international market came from the USA (Figure 12). Two decades later, Brazil is the main exporter of soybean in the world and – due to a combination of bad weather and international trade frictions between China and USA 12 –is set to become the largest producer for this commodity in the 2019 harvesting season. Still in 1997, China accounted for just 5.5% of global soybean imports. Twenty years later, China– which joined the WTO in 2001 – represents alone 63% of the world’s soybean import market, with the second and the third largest importer countries – Mexico and the Netherlands – jointly accounting for only 6% of the total imports.
• PRODUCTION OF SOYBEAN:
Data for the 1968-2018 period, reveals a relentless growth in the total soybean production levels, in the area harvested and in the average yield for this crop. In 50 years, the world’s soybean production increased by 8.4 times, the average yield almost doubled, and the global surface devoted to this crop grew by 4.3 times – from 28.8 million hectares (ha) in 1968, to almost 125 million ha in 2018, which corresponds to an aggregated area larger than the whole South Africa. Such an extraordinary growth in global production levels appears to be the combination of two main forces: extensification – that is, the expansion of the soybean area – and intensification – which can be seen as the increase in average yields due to genetic improvements and better production techniques.
Commercial and industrial soybean production started to expand in the USA during the 1920s, but it grew so rapidly that in the 1960s the United States already played the lion’s share in both soybean production and trade. In 1968, the USA produced over 30 million tonnes of soybean, corresponding to 72.7% of the global production. Gradually, new countries – mainly in South America – started to expand their soybean production, supplementing the burgeoning demand for this crop. By 1999, the USA had increased their domestic production by almost 2.5 times compared to the 1968 levels, but they only account for about 46% of the global production by that time. Despite the relative decline in the US share, the production of soybean is still very concentrated at present. In 2018, five countries alone – namely, Brazil, USA, Argentina, India, and China – produced almost 90% of the soybean in the world. All other countries that cultivated soybean in the same year – 91 countries excluding the top five – cumulatively produced 41.4 million tonnes, corresponding to about 12% of the world market today and to less than the soybean harvested in the USA alone in 1973.
In 2018, Reuters reported that Brazil was set to become the top Soybean producer 4, surpassing the USA for the first time in history. Official FAOSTAT data for 2018 – the latest available record as we write this study – still saw the USA as the world’s leading soybean produce, but estimates for the 2019 season 5 suggest that this might actually be the year when Brazil will overtake the USA as the world’s largest soybean producer.
• CONSUMPTION OF SOYBEAN:
The exceptional growth in the global soybean production levels mirrors, of course, the consumption patterns for this crop. Domestic soybean consumption data from the Foreign Agriculture Service of the USDA shows that the 5 largest consumers – namely China, USA, Argentina, Brazil, and the EU – consumed about 80% of the soybean globally produced in 2019. In 1999, China used domestically less than half of the soybean consumed in the USA, despite having 4.5 times the population recorded in the United States at that time. In 2009 China’s soybean consumption had already surpassed the USA, making China the largest soybean consumer country in the world. Ten years later, in 2019, China consumes about 30% of the world’s soybean. If China today uses about 5 times more soybean than in 1999, it domestically produces almost as much – and possibly a little less – soybean as in 1999, with an internal production that meets just about 14% of the country’s consumption.
Soybean in China has multiple uses: is used in the production of soybean oil, traditional fermented soybean products, soy sauce and – mainly – soybean meal for livestock feed. Interestingly, while China is the largest seafood exporter 6 in the world, it is a net importer for pig meat and poultry, which – coupled with data on domestic consumption of soybean and soy oil – suggests that most of the soybean in China is used to meet domestic consumption needs along the value chain. The ‘rest of world’ category indicates that a number of – mainly developing – economies are following a similar path, increasing their domestic levels of soybean consumption. This is a consequence of the growing appetite for livestock products in a number of developing countries, led by the emerging middle class that can increasingly afford these commodities. Soybean oil consumption is also expanding rapidly, with China and India respectively first and fourth in the world’s consumption ranking in 2019 and jointly importing almost a third of the soybean oil globally traded.
Each bushel of soybean weighs about 27.22 kg and produces about 5 kg of oil and 21.9 kg of protein-rich meal, with the rest being waste. For this reason, the proportion between the total soybean oil and meal globally consumed remained fairly constant during the last 50 year. However, in absolute terms, the total consumption of both soybean meal and oil grew steadily over time, mirroring soybean consumption and production trends.
Final uses for soybean in USA and Brazil – the two largest producer countries by far – are reported. In the USA, soybean meal is almost completely used in the animal feed industry, with only a residual share (3%) directly processed by the food industry. Conversely, soybean oil is mainly used for direct food production (68%), while other major uses comprise bio diesel production (25%) and industrial processing (7%) for products ranging from cosmetics to detergent.