The soy bean (glycines max (L.) Merr.) is a useful plant from the family of the (Fabaceae or Leguminosae), Unterfamilie (Faboideae). Within the family it, together for example with the garden bean, belongs to the tri bus Phaseoleae.

The soy bean originates from Eastern Asia and in China for nearly 5000 years is already cultivated. One assumes that her of glycines soja (L.) filter. et Zucc. descends, which occurs in Asia also today still wildly. The soy bean has in 17. and 18. Century only relatively late the way on the other continents found.

The soy bean is an oil plant. Their principal value is in its high content at protein (about 39%) and because of oil (about 17%), whereby the latter is unusual for beans. With a majority of the world production first the oil is extracted, which remainder mass (Sojaextraktionsschrot or Sojakuchen) used as feeds, in addition, when uses butcher set in the vegetarian kitchen.

For the direct human nutrition the fresh, green cases ("“Schoten"”) serve, or different protein products, whose most well-known Tofu and Sojasauce are. Besides there are further preparing such as Miso or Yuba and its variant "“bamboo"” (English: bamboo). Which one knows as "“Sojakeime"”, against it germs of Mungbohnen are in reality.

Soy products are not to be excluded today from many food no more, which led controversies in connection with the introduction from genetically changed Sojasorten to a discussion across possible, extensive consequences.

Today the employment of genetically changed seeds is pervasive. In the most important producer states the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay genetic engineering is already used in the Sojaanbau in large yardstick. In few years it will be impossible to receive larger quantities of genetically not changed Soja.

World production of soy beans 2004

The world harvest 2004 amounted to 198.381.812 tons.

The ten largest producers (% of the world harvest):

(Source: FAO, FAO act, 2005)

The most important export countries are the USA, Brazil and Argentina.

The most important importing country are Japan, the Netherlands and Germany.

Cultivation of soy bean in Germany

Since 1997 also farmers in South Germany in the region cultivate around Freiburg in mash gau the protein-yielding raw material on behalf of Taifun Tofu, a Demeter partner. Meanwhile 350 tons of bio soy beans to approx. 240 hectares of cultivated area are produced, correspond to 0.00018 % world production due to the European Union farm subsidies for other oil plants are relatively marginal the Sojaproduktion in the European Union.

Cultivation of soy bean in the USA

45% of the world-wide Soja cultivated area, and 55 % of production, are in the USA, in particular in Illinois and Iowa. More than one third of US production is exported, and is the most common vegetable oil in food production in the USA, because different rules are considered there to the farm subsidy than in the European Union.

Over 13 millions t in Illinois and Iowa, 7 millions t in Indiana, 6 millions t in Missouri, Minnesota, and Nebraska, to 5 millions t in Ohio, were cultivated by altogether 85 million tons of production in each case and 3 million t in South Dakota, Arkansas, and Kansas.

In the USA the cultivation genetically changed Soja is far common. With the export into the European Union products of genetically changed must be marked Soja, this apply both to feeds and to food.

Cultivation of soy bean in South America

Genetically changed Soja wins also in South America ever greater importance, this applies in particular in the main cultivation countries Argentina and Brazil.

International genetic engineering companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta or Bavarian CropScience try to arouse the impression that there would be hardly still genetic engineering-free Soja, in order to break the resistance in particular in Europe against these plants.

In Brazil the majority of the Soja production is however genetic engineering-free. After official government data were 2004 approx. 8 % of the harvest genetically changed Soja. Some Federal States forbade the cultivation due to of environment and to unsettled health risks as well as thus increasing dependence of the farmers. For spring 2005 applies a law, which is to regulate the cultivation of genetic changed plants in Brazil. Thus also the illegal cultivation, which there is for some years, is steered into legal courses.

In Argentina approx. 99 % the Soja are genetically changed. Different regulations exist in different countries, which concerns the cultivation of towards-changed Soja. This leads to illegal cultivation, which both against national interests is, and against the interests of the genetic engineering companies.

Large influence on the cultivation of more genetic engineering-free or genetically changed Soja have the customers in the European Union. Large quantities of the Soja cultivated in South America as feed into the European Union one exports.

Problematic it is besides that in Argentina and Brazil further large surfaces rain forest are cleared, in order to increase the cultivated areas for Soja.

See also

• Texturiertes Soja
• List of the vegetables

Related links

• Biothemen.de over the soy bean
• European agency of the American soy bean producers
• Food encyclopedia
• And still another interesting Soja information page
• Statistics of the FAO
• Biosojaanbau in South Germany

Articles in category "Soy bean"

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