The oil content of soybeans is 19%. Soybean adds 40 kg of nitrogen per hectare to the soil through nitrogen fixation.
Soybean is an oilseed crop. China, Central Asia, Japan, Korea, and Australia are the origins of soybeans. It is highly nutritious. The protein content of soybeans is 40%. Its oil is vegetable oil. The oil content of soybeans is 19%. Soybean adds 40 kg of nitrogen per hectare to the soil through nitrogen fixation. Consumption of soybean can be done in many ways. Foods made from soybeans can be divided into fermented and unfermented foods.
Consumption in the US:
Soybean has gained attention as a miracle crop in the US and Europe, it is not yet an established part of the Western diet. For example, the US is the biggest producer of soybeans in the world, producing about 73 million tons per year. Consumption of soybean per person of US is on average about 40g per year. This is less than the amount eaten in one day by the average person in Japan.
Consumption in Japan:
A campaign (Health Japan 21) was launched in 2000 as part of the “National Health Promotion Campaign” for the 21st century, and the message of that campaign was “Eat 100g or more of beans per day.
However, today’s actual consumption level is far below this target with an average of 59.4g per person. When divided by the age categories, the data for daily intake per capita shows that people in their 50s and 60s consume more than average, but intake level decrease sharply in both males and females under the age of 50s.
This indicates that it is not easy for people to consume soybeans in sufficient quantities to enjoy the health benefits that they offer.
Consumption in India:
India consumed an estimated volume of over six million metric tons of soybean meal in fiscal year 2021. There has been a consistent increase in the quantity of domestic consumption since fiscal year 2016.
Soybean meals were used mainly in foods and animal feeds as a protein supplement. Soybean exports from India had increased in the previous year owing to Iran’s markets opening up as a result of US sanctions.
Consumption in China:
In the market year ending in September 2021, China consumed around 72.68 million metric tons of soybean meal. In the market year ending in September 2022, the estimated soybean meal domestic consumption volume was 69.95 million metric tons.
Consumption in Pakistan:
Pakistan depends a lot upon imports of soybeans. The country imports about 2-2.5 million metric ton of soybeans every year. According to USDA data, Pakistan has shown tremendous growth in soybean imports in percentage terms but is still extremely small on a per capita consumption basis.
Between 2014/2015 and most recent completed marketing year (2018/2019), Pakistan’s soybean imports and domestic consumption have grown by 455% and 478 percent, respectively.
Consumption by animals:
A large amount of soybean is consumed by animals in the form of feed. Just over 70% of the soybean grown in the US are used for animal feed, with poultry being number one livestock sector consuming soybean, followed by hogs, dairy, beef and aquaculture.
Conclusion
As soybean has many health and other benefits like providing the nitrogen to soil through nitrogen fixation. It is the need of time that we should work on it because we import a large amount of soybean that takes a large amount of our budget. We can produce it easily as this area is the origin of soybean.