How an in inedible plant becomes a mainstay in (sham) nutrition.

Soy, Industrial waste turned into gold


We have such a small world it is amazing how everything affects everything.


In his book: ‘Enriching the Earth’, Vaclav Smil pointed out that, “there is no way to grow crops and human bodies without nitrogen.” By 1900 European scientists had recognized that unless a way was found to augment this naturally occurring nitrogen, the growth of the human population would soon grind to a painful halt. The same recognition by Chinese scientist a few decades later. After President Nixon’s 1972 visit to china where he takes all the credit for ‘opening up’ access to China the Chinese government almost immediately placed orders for 13 huge fertilizer plants, as they had realized without them they were going to starve.

There are 6 billion people on earth today and it doubles every 10 years. In one month (10-06) the population of the U.S. will reach 300 million.


While nitrogen is 80% of the air, the atoms are in tightly paired making them non-reactive, virtually inert. Think of those patio chairs that nest together for storage but you can’t possibly sit on them like that. To make the atoms useful they need to be split up. Bacteria, the type found on the roots of leguminous plants such as peas (peanuts), alfalfa, locust trees or soybeans and to a lesser extent lightening can and does break this bond. Doctor Carver figured out over a hundred different ways to use peanuts to encourage their planting, so the soil wouldn’t get depleted (of nitrogen). Soybeans grow profusely in many kinds of soil and claimants but are virtually inedible by humans and even they even make poor animal feed. Doesn’t anyone remember their 7th grade social studies text books? (1955)  In 1909 Fritz Haber figured out a way to break the nitrogen atoms apart in a laboratory.

A German, Haber Bosch, working in the German WWI chemical warfare industry figured out a way to commercialize Haber’s discovery . The Haber-Bosch method works by combining nitrogen and hydrogen together under immense heat and pressure but this requires lots and lots of energy.

In 1947 the Alabama that had tons of tons of ammonium nitrate left over from making explosives and it was decided to turn this into Fertilizer.

When the farmers used the fertilizer it quintupled their crop yield and immediately they began to rely on fertilizer rather than bacteria to replenish the nitrogen in their fields.

The point I’m trying to make here is that by 1950 a huge amount of money had been invested in soybeans by big business trying to make it profitable to grow (every other year a field needed to be seeded with soy [or peanuts or alfalfa but soy grows almost anywhere] to replenish the nitrogen in the soil and it would be much more profitable if the soy was good for something and than, all of a sudden; that need goes away. Now they are stuck with a huge investment in soy and they just don’t want to walk away from it. They had learned so much about how to grow and manipulate the soybean. It was an investment they just didn't want to let go.

So now about soy. Soy in its natural state is riddled with Contaminants. To separate soy from its contaminants it is heated to over 400 degrees up to 6 different times in an effort to release the ‘bad’ impurities from the ‘good’ protein. So, just how ‘good’ is your protein now that it has been heated so hot so many times and are you going to take ‘their’ word for it is safe to eat now?



Is Soy Bad for Babies?

Contributor Randall Neuestaedter, O.M.D., responds: you should be concerned.  Soy is dangerous for several reasons.  Besides the toxic level of aluminum and manganese in Soy formula, soy itself is an inappropriate food for children.  Soy the foods and soy formulas depress thyroid function.  They can induce a hypothyroid state in infants.  Soy formula feeding is associated with hormone disruption in premature sexual development in small children.  A soy-fed baby receives the equivalent of 5 birth control pills worth of estrogen every day.  Soy feeding in infancy has also been linked to diabetes.  Soy interferes with the absorption of calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron.  Soy formulas should never be given to infancy.  Organic towers milk formulas our safest.  (Horizon). If babies have difficulty digesting mail, then a hyper allergenic formula (good start) or a predigested milk-based formula (Nutramigen) may be required until babies or eating enough solid foods to stop formula.

Use the WEB, go into Google and type “Truth about soy” yourself, I’m not making this up.

The original WEB site "Truth about Soy" in NZ no longer exists.



SOY HISTORY

The Global Endocrine Disruptor Research Directory (GEDRI) also recognizes the developmental effects of soy phytoestrogens.  Read more (i)(link has been discontinued)(/i). Their Global Endocrine Disruptor Project will focus on soy's effects on sexual development.

Soya may be making men infertile.  Read an article by James Chapman published in the Daily Mirror soyonlineservice web SITE IS discontinued.

An article published in Scientific American (2002) suggests soy infant formula may impair the developing immune system.  (Link discontinued) Read More Here

New York parents on trial for child harm after soyonlineservice web SITE IS discontinued, Soy Formula Feedings

British Government advisers move to curb soy formula milk sales due to their fear that  children's sexual development and fertility as adults might be affected if they take the products during their first few months of life.  Read the following article published in The Guardian, 8 February 2003.

Scientists call for more research on the effects of plant hormones.  Read the following article published in The Guardian, 15 October 2002.

Research has illustrated that major changes in behavioral measures of anxiety and in stress hormones can result from the soya isoflavone content of rat diet.  Abstract available soyonlineservice web SITE IS CLOSED Here. Read more on our soyonlineservice web SITE IS discontinued, Cognitive Function page.

Genistein in soy foods alters the reproductive organs in male rats. Read more Here and also the soyonlineservice web SITE IS CLOSED Scientific Abstract Here.  Read more on our soyonlineservice web SITE IS discontinued, Male Health page.

Excerpt From:

COMMITTEE ON TOXICITY OF CHEMICALS IN FOOD, CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT ON PHYTOESTROGENS AND HEALTH

"After reviewing the data and conclusions in the report relating to soy-based infant formula, SACN considered that there is cause for concern about the use of soy-based infant formula. Additionally, there is neither substantive medical need for, nor health benefit arising From, the use soy-based infant formula".

Soyonlineservice is delighted that, nine years after its scientists Asked for soy formulas to be withdrawn from sale as a Precautionary Measure (Dr Iain Robertson of the Auckland Medical School in 1994  "I can see no good reason why anyone should wish to continue with general sales of such products"), all their concerns have been vindicated. But we regret the harm that has been caused over that period because of industry hostility to such a sensible safety measure .  Full document available WEB site missing) Here.

Mums-to-be warned:  Do not eat soya, London Metro 13/02/03.  Read this article soyonlineservice [Link Missing]web SITE IS discontinued Here.

More evidence has recently been published indicating that exposure to genistein during pregnancy and lactation exerts long-lasting effects on the endocrine and immune systems in adulthood.  Read the soyonlineservice web SITE IS CLOSED. Full Abstract Here.  More soy and immunity information is available on our soyonlineservice web SITE IS CLOSED Immune Function page.



More HISTORY

Keith Whigham
Extension Agronomist
(Link discontinued)Department of Agronomy
Iowa State University
Crop Origin
The first written record of soybean was found in Chinese books that included plants of China described by Emperor Cheng-Nung in 2838 B.C. The exact origin and early history before this date is unknown. Soybean has been repeatedly mentioned in later records as a most-important cultivated legume crop throughout Asia and particularly in China. The Chinese referred to a group of five sacred grains as "Wu Ku". These crops include soybean, rice, wheat, barley, and millet and were considered essential for the existence of Chinese civilization. The record indicates that soybean was sown annually with great ceremony by the emperors of China and poets extolled the virtues of the soybean and its services to humanity.

Glycine ussuriensis is a wild progenitor of Glycine max and is found in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Yangtze Valley of Central China. the northeastern provinces of China, and adjacent areas of Russia. This wild type is similar but different than the current cultivated soybean but can be genetically crossed and is frequently used in plant breeding programs to incorporate specific traits that are desirable.

The soybean was first domesticated in the eastern half of north China in the 11th century B.C. The cultivated form of soybean was introduced into Korea from North China and into Japan between 200 B.C. and 300 A.D. Even today the soybean provides a very important protein source in the diets of many Asian nations and is an extremely valuable food and industrial product throughout Asia.

Back to Soybean History

Henry Yonge first planted soybean in the United States on his farm in Thunderbolt Georgia. in 1765. Samuel Bowen, a seaman. brought the seed to the U.S. from China via England. From 1804 to 1890, numerous introductions were made of this crop from China and Japan. After 1890 soybean research intensified and the first publication devoted solely to soybean was written by Williams in 1899 and published by the USDA.

In 1852, J. J. Jackson planted soybean in an ornamental garden in Davenport, Iowa, and is the first recorded planting in this state.


More Soybean History

Early Uses

The early uses of soybean in Asia were quite varied. Soybean was grown mainly for the seeds which were and still are used for fresh, fermented, and dried food products. Large quantities were crushed to extract oil for food and industrial purposes. The soybean meal remaining after oil extraction and was used for fertilizer and animal feed. In addition to the above-mentioned products, soybean was also used for medicinal purposes in many Asian families.

The soybean has also been used and is used for soy sauce, soy milk, soy curd, soy paste, and bean sprouts. Currently many forms of these same products are being modernized to appeal to Americans and their low calorie diets. The principal early use of soybean in the United States was as a forage crop. The crop was frequently harvested for a single crop of hay or plowed under as a green manure crop to improve the soil structure and fertility. Soybean as a forage crop may now be reintroduced as a relatively new option for dairy farmers because new varieties have recently been developed by the USDA for forage soybean. These soybeans are late maturing gerrnplasm that will grow five to six feet tall with a large physical structure and produce very few seeds because flowering occurs late in the season. The intent is to use these forage soybean varieties for silage mixed with corn silage, thereby improving the overall nutrition of the silage. These forage varieties have not yet been released for commercial use but are being studied throughout the Midwest. Soybean may be grown alone as we frequently find them in the soybean belt of the United States or they may be grown with other crops as forage crops or grain crops. The intercropping for grain crops usually occurs in those areas of the world where hand labor is used for planting and harvesting to keep the grain from different crops separate.

Back to Soybean History
Processing
The first soybeans to be processed in the United States came from China and were processed in Seattle, Washington, in 1911. The first oil was extracted from U.S. grown soybean in 1915 by a cottonseed oil extracting mill. By 1929 a significant portion of the U.S. crop was being crushed for oil. In 1941 the acreage of soybean grown for grain exceeded that grown for forage in the United States. Today thousands of soy processing products are available for food and industrial uses in the marketplace.


Back to Soybean History
"Varieties" Early Varieties
Before 1898 only eight soybean varieties were known in the U.S. and they had been introduced from Asia and represented yellow, black, green, and brown seed coats. By the year 1910, 280 varieties and types were available, most from China but also from Japan, India, Siberia, Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan, Viet Narn, Java, and several European countries. More than 11,000 introductions of soybean germplasm have come to the United States since 1898.


Back to Soybean History
Trade
Soybean trade occurred between the U.S. and China before 1865 and outside of China with other Asian countries by 1895. Japan was a major soybean customer of the United States by 1905. England first imported soybean in 1900.

By 1935 soybean meal had become an accepted part of livestock and poultry rations. Today soybean is the major world oilseed because it was first used for oil extraction; however, less than 20 percent of the seed is oil and from 35 to 40 percent is protein meal. By 1938 the U.S. became a net exporter of meal to Canada and Europe. The U.S. and China had little export competition until the 1970s when Brazil had remarkable increases in production. Argentina became a major exporter in the early 1980s. The U.S. now produces approximately 50 percent of the world's supply of soybean on about 40 percent of the land area producing soybean. Brazil is the number two world producer ranging from 17 to 19 percent; Argentina and China rank third or fourth with each producing from 10 to 12 percent of the world production. Many other countries throughout the world produce some soybean but their total production is small compared to the U.S., Brazil. Argentina, and China.


Back to Soybean History
Production
The average yield of U.S. soybean was 11 bushel per acre in 1924 and increased to 25.4 bushel per acre in 1966. The record high yield for the national soybean average of 41.9 bushel per acre occurred in 1994.

In the United States the total soybean production in 1924 was 1.8 million acres harvested. That grew in 1954 to 18.9 million acres, in 1994 61.8 million acres, and 1996 63.4 million acres of soybean harvested.

Early soybean production was concentrated in the eastern and southern United States. In the 1930s oil extraction mills were built in the Midwest and since has been the hub of U.S. soybean production. Iowa and Illinois annually produce one-third of the total U.S. soybean production with Iowa producing the greatest number of bushels in recent years but Illinois having the largest number of acres planted to soybean. Weather plays an important part on who leads the nation in soybean production. The top seven producing states in the United States are found in the Midwest from Ohio to Nebraska plus Minnesota and Missouri. That soybean belt produces between 70 and 75 percent of the U.S. production each year.

Soy Dangers