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First China -- From There
The World
The Spread Of The Soybean
Go West, Young Soybean
First China -- From
There The World
Soybeans first took root as early
as the 11th century BC in northern China,
where they were among the first crops grown
by man.1 The ancient Chinese honored soybeans
as one of the five sacred grains essential
to the existence of Chinese civilization,
and considered the soybean both a food and
a medicine. Over the next several centuries,
the Chinese domesticated the wild soybean
plant. Soon, however, the rest of the world
would discover the virtues of this versatile
plant.
The Spread Of The
Soybean
By the first century AD, soybeans appear
to have spread to central and southern China
and Korea. In the 7th century, soybeans
made their way to Japan, and then to Indonesia,
the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia,
Burma, Nepal and northern India.
Even in its early history, the soybean
was highly regarded and the source of a
wide variety of foods. The three most important
soyfoods in traditional Asian cuisine were
miso, tempeh, and tofu.
Go West, Young Soybean
It wasn't until the 17th century
that European visitors to the East became
aware of this unfamiliar bean from which
Asians made many different foods. Soy first
reached Western shores as imported soy sauce,
and soybeans were being grown in Europe
by the 18th century.
In 1765, the first soybean plant hit North
American soil. Initially, American soybeans
were used to make soy sauce and soy noodles
for export to England. Benjamin Franklin
also had a hand in introducing soybeans
to America when he sent seeds from London
to a botanist friend in North America in
1770.
Gradually, soybeans spread to farming areas
that remain soy-growing states today, and
were grown primarily to feed animals. Even
though extensive research began to reveal
the soybean's superior nutrition, it didn't
become an important food crop until the
1920's.
By World War I, soybeans were valued as
a source of oil and of inexpensive, high-quality
protein.
The U.S. soybean crop has increased from
9 million bushels in 1929 to 78 million
bushels in 1940 to a record 2.8 billion
bushels in 1998 (the most recent year for
which statistics are available).3 More than
one-third of the U.S. soybean crop is sold
to other countries, in which, like Japan,
soyfoods are dietary staples.
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