Soy - where does it come from?

The soya plant

A native of Manchuria, soya is a leguminous plant which should not be confused with the mung bean, improperly described as "soy sprouts", which are mainly consumed in salads and have nothing to do with the beans used in the manufacture of soy products: these are two different species. Soya is an autogamous (self-fertilising) plant, thereby eliminating the risks of cross-pollination, e.g. with GMO crops.

The supreme eco-friendly plant, soy improves the soil, protects the groundwater table and forms nutrients in less than 100 days. Soya beans are grown as a row crop, planted in May or June, and harvested with a grain combine in the fall. Soil on which soy has never been cultivated before, has to be grafted with the bacteria Rhizobium sp. in order to guarantee a successful crop. The pods are simultaneously ripe and can therefore be harvested in one time.

Soya has been grown in the West since the early 20th century. All over the United States, soy is now cultivated at a large scale. The European Union produces more than 600 000 tons of soy per year. Having been consumed in Asia for 4,000 years, and from the earliest age, soya found its way into the Western diet some decades ago.

The soya plant is an annual plant of the legume family (peas, beans) and it has leguminous fruits, normally containing 3 seeds. These are the soybeans. More than 100 different varieties exist, which differ in size, colour, protein and oil consistence. The yellow seed variety is most frequently used since it contains an optimal combination of protein, fat and taste content.

The soybean

The soyabean consists of three major parts: the hull (seed coat with hilum i.e. the point of attachment to the pod), the cotyledones and the germ (hypocotyl). The two cotyledones of the soyabean are held together by the hull.

The proximate composition of the whole soyabean is as follows:

Whole seed: 100 %
Cotyledones: 90 %
Hull: 8 %
Hypocotyl axis: 2 %


More information ?

Please read our brochure:

All about soyfood (pdf 109 Kb)