The history of the soya plant goes back thousands of years. In ancient Asia soy was part of people’s diet because of its nutritional qualities and its content in high-quality vegetable protein. Europeans became acquainted with soy beans and the foods made from them over a hundred years ago when travelling to China and other countries in Asia. Soya has been grown in the West since the early 20th century and it found its way into the Western diet several decades ago.
Nowadays soy is cultivated on a large scale all over the United States. Together with Brazil it is the leading soy bean producer in the world. In the European Union there are more than 600 000 tons of soy produced per year.
The soy plant is a pulse (other plants in the same family include peas and beans) which produces a pod which usually contains three seeds or beans. These beans are soya beans. The yellow-bean variety is the variety which is most used, as it contains an optimum combination of protein, fat and taste. The beans are grinded through traditional processes to extract all the goodness of the beans and produce nutritious and tasty soyfoods such as soy drinks, soy yogurts, soy desserts, soy culinary creams and soy-meat replacers.
With its unique nutritional composition, soya is an ideal foodstuff for a balanced and healthy diet. Thanks to their content in high-quality proteins, soyfood products are a perfect vegetal alternative to meat and dairy products. In addition, soyfoods are low in saturated fats and soy proteins have been shown to help reduce blood cholesterol levels. Being lactose-free, they are also easy to digest.
A supreme eco-friendly plant, soy does not only help improve your health but it also improves the soil and protects the groundwater table.
Over the last years it has been scientifically proven that our eating habits have a serious impact on the environment. In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) published a report which highlighted that 18% of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions originate from the livestock sector. This is as high as the GHG emissions from the transport sector.
Global warming is however not the only environmental consequences of livestock rearing, since water and land use also have to be taken into consideration. It is estimated that 75% of agricultural land is used for cattle, be it for pastures or for growing crops to feed the cattle. This will only become worse, as the demand for food will keep on increasing in the future.
Therefore, everyone can contribute in protecting the environment simply by reducing their consumption of animal products and moving to a more plant-based diet. Soya has a much lower environmental impact –be it in terms of GHG emissions, land use or water - and thanks to their nutritional value, soyfood products are ideal to replace animal-based products such as meat and milk. Not only are soy products good for your health, they are also good for the Earth!