The soya bean is a species of legume and is one of the world’s most important oil plants, since around half of vegetable oil produced is obtained from the soya bean. Genetically modified soya beans are increasingly being used in soya cultivation, with the result that around 60 per cent of the world’s soya output comes from genetically modified plants. The soya bean is cultivated primarily in East Asia. To date, no soya bean plants have been discovered in the wild.
To grow and flourish, the soya bean plants need a lot of water and a warm climate. For this reason soya is cultivated primarily in the USA, Brazil and Argentina. Around 16 million tonnes of soya beans are imported into the EU each year, where they are processed by oil pressers. The largest share is used to produce animal feedingstuffs, while oil is only obtained from 3 million tonnes.
Soya is particularly significant because of its protein content (39 per cent) and its oil content (17 per cent), since no other plant offers comparable values. Soya is also used as an ingredient and additive in the food industry. It is estimated that around 30,000 foods contain ingredients derived from soya. Particularly in Asia, the protein-rich seeds are regarded as a foodstuff in their own right and are consumed. Soya milk can be produced from ground yellow soya beans, and then can be processed into tofu. Tofu is used as a meat substitute in vegetarian cookery because of its high protein content and because it contains all the essential amino acids.
Soya beans have been cultivated in China for around 5,000 years. The soya bean has only been known on other continents since the 17th and 18th century, however.