Soybean oil is the most common oil used to produce biodiesel. Soybeans are also an important ingredient in many food products and in animal feed and we wanted to learn more about the sustainability of growing soybeans and producing biodiesel.

Sustainability is a Priority
Cindy Pulskamp is a farmer in North Dakota and also serves on the United Soybean Board and as a director for The Center for Food Integrity. She said sustainability is a priority for farmers and what that means varies from farm to farm.

“When you talk about sustainability, longevity is a big part of it. This year, the farm that I am part of will be 110 years old,” she said. “Sustainability is also always moving and changing. As soon as you learn something that makes you better, you’ve now raised the bar to make yourself better than you were. The sustainability that I look for in our soybeans and our farming operation is to always challenge ourselves to find new and better ways to produce a better product.”

Biodiesel helps improve sustainability by using every part of the bean, said Mac Marshall, vice president of market intelligence for the United Soybean Board.

“When you crush beans, you get about 80% meal and about 20% oil. The meal fraction is where the protein resides and most of that is used to feed livestock,” he said.

When it comes to the oil, some is used in foods such as cooking oil and salad dressing. About 30 years ago, farmers began funding research to find more ways to use soybean oil and developed biodiesel, Marshall said. Biodiesel is often used in vehicles such as trucks and buses.

Biodiesel and Food Prices
There has been some question if using soybeans for fuel has caused food prices to rise. A study conducted by Purdue University found that biofuels had little impact on food prices because only a small portion of soybeans are used for fuel. When soybeans are processed to create oil to meet biofuel demand, it means more meal is available for animal feed, driving down the price of animal protein products, the study determined.

“The economic model we created links the farm supply of soybeans to retail demand for various food products. What we found, after assessing the impact of rising soybean oil demand on prices at the grocery store, was little change to the Consumer Price Index (CPI),” said Jayson Lusk, the author of the study who was a food and agricultural economist at Purdue University at the time of the study. “While the increased demand for biofuels pushed up retail prices for oil between 0.16% and 4.41% across different categories, retail animal product prices for dairy, beef, pork, chicken and eggs declined between -0.01% and -0.16%.”

Biodiesel and Carbon Footprint
Biofuels are sustainable in other ways, Marshall said.

“Renewable diesel is effectively a one-to-one replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel. Instead of having to utilize a gallon of petroleum diesel fuel, which is produced by extracting it from the earth, we are producing the same gallon of fuel that has the same utility without the extractive release of carbon into the atmosphere,” he said.

A full lifecycle analysis found that biodiesel produced from oilseed crops reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 69% compared to petroleum diesel.

Pulskamp said biodiesel can help cut emissions in situations where electric vehicles are not feasible, such as large trucks or farm equipment that require more horsepower or areas that do not have the infrastructure for electric vehicles.

“Biofuels can bridge the chasm because biofuels take extensive amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and you’re not losing horsepower,” she said. “Once petroleum is taken from the ground, it is gone. But soybeans are harvested and the next year we grow that crop again and produce more food and fuel. That’s one of the wonderful things about soybeans.”

When considering sustainability issues, farmers are a key part of the solution, Marshall said.

“First and foremost, we think about global nutrition and the need to continue to produce food for a growing population,” he said. “In the United States, we don’t have the luxury of bringing more land into production, nor would that be the best stewardship of a finite resource. So our farmers really have to focus on efficiency to utilize the most of what they have on each acre of land to grow the most.”

There are many tools available to help farmers be more sustainable, Pulskamp said, such as using genetics to breed plants that are healthier and learning how to best manage nutrients in the soil. “Deep in my heart, the best thing I can do is at the end of the day is knowing that I gave it my best to produce a really good product. I have talked to many, many of my fellow soy farmers and they believe the same thing.”

The post Is biodiesel a sustainable option? appeared first on Best Food Facts.

These technologies have become common on farms because of many benefits they provide for farmers, consumers and the environment.

GPS, sensors, and other digital tools and data analytics are called precision ag, or information technology applied to agriculture, said Dr. Terry Griffin, associate professor at Kansas State University.

“Farming uses technology rivaling the most digital of industries,” Dr. Griffin said. “Just like many of the cars our readers drive, farm equipment collects diagnostic data to push up to the cloud so that the manufacturer and farm operator can access that data for their purposes.”

Oswald became interested in precision agriculture because he wanted to protect the soil on his northwest Iowa farm.

“Our land here is gently rolling and I really wanted to focus on reducing soil erosion. I decided I needed to do something to better hold the soil on our gently rolling slopes,” he said.

Oswald began by reducing tillage – or the amount the soil is disturbed to plant seeds. When GPS technology became available, he used it to take soil samples to get an accurate picture of the soil in specific locations. Now, nearly every piece of equipment on his farm is equipped with precision ag technology. Innovation is now available to ensure exact seed placement, make precise applications of fertilizer and herbicide, monitor yields and guide tractors.

“By deploying technology, we can better place the products we’re putting in the field so we can do more with less,” Oswald said. “It’s like a killer app. Once you use it, you don’t want to quit.”

Farmers use a variety of technologies that work together to give them detailed information about their soil and crops grown for food ingredients and animal feed, such as soybeans, corn and wheat.

“Automated guidance is analogous to self-driving cars – at least for making parallel passes in the farmer’s field. Instantaneous sensors on crop harvesters measure yield, moisture, and quality characteristics every few seconds; and with GPS this data can be georeferenced into a map,” Dr. Griffin said.

That data is then used to determine the optimum plan for each precise location to grow crops using as few resources as possible.

“With knowledge of how soil nutrients vary spatially across the field, prescription of soil fertility amendments can be developed to apply fertilizer at site-specific or variable rates across the field. In the last decade, farm data has been a major consideration, especially with respect to aggregating individual farm data into communities of big data,” Dr. Griffin said.

How does precision ag improve sustainability?

Precision agriculture helps make farming more sustainable in many ways. By precisely applying fertilizer, seed and crop protection products, these state-of-the-art technologies lessen the environmental impact of farming. Farmers can also control their costs, which helps them to be economically viable so they can continue to farm. This also helps to keep food costs affordable as it enables growing more food while using less land.

Dr. Griffin said there have been some unexpected benefits, as well.

“When automated guidance was commercialized about 20 years ago, the technology seemed to have ubiquitous advantages for reducing overlap and allowing equipment operators to work additional hours in a day,” he said. “One of the greatest benefits was not measured with dollars but with satisfaction and improved quality-of-life from less fatigue. The less fatigued equipment operator could translate into greater satisfaction of the entire rural household from improved social relations.”

Looking forward, Dr. Griffin expects more automation to be involved in farming.

“In the past, tedious manual tasks have been automated; in the future, more complex tasks that typically have required humans with advanced skill sets will be automated,” he said. “The first steps have already been completed with data collection via sensors and transferring data to the cloud. Think of how self-driving cars have automated the task of navigating a busy street by replacing the human driver; then apply that type of technology to removing humans from the decision-making process.”

One day, precision farming might be combined with other advances, such as gene editing, to develop plants with disease or drought resistance, Oswald believes. Learn more about gene editing in agriculture.

“I think gene editing has powerful potential for humankind in understanding and addressing issues through genetics,” he said. “Because it is a precise modification, plants could be made better suited for the environment where they’re going to be growing. The next step could be a gene-edited crop that is planted in a specific part of the field.”

Farmers control much of precision ag technology through their cell phones.

“Mobile devices play a key role for each of the players in this system, and the importance of mobile devices is only increasing as precision agriculture becomes the order of the day for 21st-century farmers,” Dr. Griffin said.

Farmers use precision agriculture to apply the latest technology to help them grow enough food using fewer inputs and natural resources.

Developed with support of United Soybean Board.

The post How Do Farmers Use Technologies to Produce More With Less? appeared first on Best Food Facts.

This is an especially exciting time as scientists are seeing their research applied in the field, leading to food that is healthier, better quality and more sustainably produced.

High-oleic soybean oil is the first gene-edited food product available on the market. This heart-healthy oil has zero trans fats, longer shelf life and performs well in baking and frying.

“We wanted to use gene editing to create a soybean variety that was higher in monounsaturated fats and compete effectively with oils like sunflower, canola or olive oil,” said Dr. Dan Voytas, a professor at the University of Minnesota, who helped develop the gene-edited high-oleic soybean.

The innovation was possible because gene editing allows for very precise changes in the plant’s genome, Dr. Voytas said.

Dr. Steve Whitham is working to improve soybeans, an important crop that is used in food, oil and animal feed. One goal of his research is to make farming more sustainable by helping farmers grow more using fewer inputs and natural resources.

“It’s estimated that we lose 15 to 20 percent of the soybean crop to diseases each year,” said Dr. Whitham, professor at Iowa State University and co-director of the Crop Bioengineering Center. “In the last severe drought in 2012, we lost 9 percent of soybean yield. Disease and environmental stress such as drought are important factors that prevent the soybean crop from reaching its full yield potential.”

Researchers are also using gene editing to increase the protein content of soybeans for use in plant-based foods and as a source of feed for animals.

Three years ago, Best Food Facts spoke to Dr. Jessica Lyons at the University of California-Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) about using gene editing to improve cassava, an important part of the diet for nearly 1 billion people in the world. The plant contains compounds that can cause people to be poisoned from cyanide if the root has not been sufficiently processed. If people are ingesting the cyanide, over time, this can lead to neurological disorders.

For the team developing the cassava plant, the project has personal meaning.

“Growing up in a Colombian family, I knew cassava by the name yuca. It would be part of many delicious meals at home. So for me, there is a personal connection to working on this crop,” said Dr. Michael Gomez, also of the IGI. “I was surprised to learn about cassava’s toxicity and how it could negatively affect consumers in dire circumstances. Generating non-toxic cassava is a stellar use of the CRISPR technology and has the potential to mitigate global food challenges.”

The researchers are excited to see their research come to fruition.

“We have shown, in three different cassava varieties, that we have completely prevented cyanogenesis. That is, we have used genome editing to make plants that don’t make cyanide,” Dr. Lyons said. Read more about the research here.

What is gene editing?

“Gene editing is a very precise way of modifying genes within a plant cell. The types of edits that we create are no different than the variation in genes that occurs in nature,” Dr. Whitham said.

CRISPR is one common technique used for gene editing. The process is a way of speeding up the natural evolution of genetics.

“Traditional breeding methods can be laborious and time-consuming. With gene editing, the desired DNA alterations can be acquired within a single generation and the end product could be indistinguishable from a traditionally bred crop,” Dr. Gomez said.

How can gene editing help the environment?

In addition to improving food, gene editing can also help farmers control diseases and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

“There are many benefits to the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of producing soybeans, as well as reducing the application of crop protection products,” Dr. Whitham said. “We’re learning more about genes that control plant responses to disease and stress.”

By precisely editing these genes, the plants can be made to better resist disease and withstand stress. Scientists see many ways gene editing can be applied to create climate solutions.

“Genome editing is a great precision breeding tool. Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing climate, there’s an urgent need for new climate-resilient crop varieties, and this tool has the potential to help us breed them more quickly and more precisely than conventional breeding,” Dr. Lyons said. “It can have huge benefits for agriculture, including for disease resistance, and even for climate change mitigation — for example, it could be used to engineer plants with deeper roots that store more carbon in the soil.”

Dr. Voytas said gene editing might be used to develop soybean oil that is similar to palm oil. That enhances sustainability, as palm oil production often leads to deforestation and the oil must be transported great distances.

“We could easily use gene editing to create a palm oil equivalent that is produced locally and sustainably,” he said.

Gene editing is a technology being used to make precise changes in genetic material to improve food quality and increase the sustainability of farming and food.

Developed with support of United Soybean Board

The post What Benefits Can Gene Editing Bring to Food Quality and Sustainability? appeared first on Best Food Facts.

From enhancing our favorite foods to helping farmers grow healthy, abundant crops in a sustainable way, gene-edited soybeans offer so many benefits.

Learn more about why Gene, scientists, farmers and those who produce our food are excited about an amazing technology that makes life better for you and our planet.

The post Meet Gene the Bean! appeared first on Best Food Facts.

From salad dressings and sauces to the oil for your fried favorites, a better-than-ever soybean is making a big splash thanks to gene editing.

It’s an evolution of plant breeding that shows tremendous promise in helping farmers preserve our planet and improve our food.

Through gene editing, we now have a high-oleic, heart healthy oil made from soybeans – the first commercially available gene-edited food product. With zero trans fats, this odorless, colorless, neutral-flavored oil also has a longer shelf life and performs well under high heat conditions like baking and frying making it ideal for cooks in kitchens around the world.

Farmers have begun growing high-protein gene-edited soybeans, too, helping to meet the growing demand for plant-based foods and improving feed for animals and fish.

Growing soybeans in a more sustainable way – growing enough food using less land and water has farmers across the U.S. excited about gene editing.

Whether it’s growing healthy, abundant crops, caring for the environment or enhancing our favorite foods gene-edited soybeans are making waves and it’s just the beginning of great things to come.

The post Gene Editing and Soy For Healthier Food and a Healthier Planet appeared first on Best Food Facts.

Best Food Facts TASTE Tour influencers were challenged to discover where the foods came from and how the processing happened. Touring farms, soy processing facility, influencers witnessed sprawling fields of produce, met the farmers, and watched soybeans be processed to make different products.

ICYMI, soy is a plant-based source of protein that is in many favorite dishes. But grocery shoppers still have questions about soy. Does it contain estrogen? Has soy been linked to breast cancer? These are just a few of the many questions the 2019 TASTE Tour aimed to answer. With the help of experts — including Julie Garden-Robinson from the BFF expert network — bloggers went home with not only a refreshed outlook on soy and soy foods but also an inspired approach on how to incorporate more soy into their daily lives. Want to know more about the experience? Check out this video:

#BestFoodFacts

Spending three days in Ocean City, Maryland, bloggers followed soybeans from the farm to the processing plant and beyond to the dinner table. They had the opportunity to taste, hold, interact and eat soybeans. Bloggers learned about the growing and harvesting process, saw where the soybeans arrived at the processing facility to be processed, refined and turned into oil. They also enjoyed gourmet meals that featured soybean products.

Scroll on to hear more from the influencers themselves about their #BestFoodFacts TASTE Tour experience:

• I had such a great time in Maryland learning about soybeans. It was not something I really knew about before this trip. Now I’m excited to incorporate more soy products into our diets. It is such a great source of protein, which should definitely help me fill up my growing teenage boy!– Erin Sellin, Dinners, Dishes & Desserts 
• I’m not proud to admit that I truly knew very little about soybeans, what products are derived from soy, and the health benefits before my trip. My mind was BLOWN and I’ll never look at a little soybean plant the same way again. Soy is such an under-appreciated source of vitamins and minerals, and has zero cholesterol. It’s truly heart healthy, and is so much more than just soy sauce. – Becky Hardin, The Cookie Rookie
• I love cooking with soy. I grew up eating foods like tofu, Asian-style soy milk, tofu skins, edamame, and miso. They are my comfort food. Although I’ve eaten soy practically my entire life, I had little knowledge about how they’re grown and processed. That’s why I was incredibly excited when Best Food Facts invited me to their 2019 TASTE tour in Ocean City, Maryland, to learn more about soybean farming and production. – Lisa Lin, Healthy Nibbles
• On my two-day soybean tour, I learned a TON. My head is still processing all the things that I learned about soy farming and the technology that is used to make it such a sustainable and healthy food source. – Lisa Longly, Wine and Glue
• Up until this point, I hadn’t ever really given soy much thought. However, it’s been another food source I have taken for granted until now. – Lynne Feifer, 365 Days of Baking & More
• One of my favorite parts of the trip was learning about the many health benefits of soybeans. They’re naturally cholesterol-free and high in protein and fiber. They’re also rich in B vitamins, phosphorus, and iron. The nutritionist we met with was able to put to rest some of the myths and concerns surrounding soy, and I can absolutely say I’m excited to introduce more soy into my cooking! – Cathy Trochelman, Lemon Tree Dwelling
• I grew up eating soy as a child and as an adult, I do have a lot of soy in my diet. From soy milk to tofu and soy sauce, it’s in my regular cooking. I had an awesome opportunity to work with Best Food Facts. – Julie Tran Deily, The Little Kitchen
• Before my trip to Maryland, I did not know very much about soy and the many health benefits that it provides. I am excited to incorporate more soyfoods into our family meals and snacks. – Jocelyn Brubaker, Inside BruCrew Life
• Soy is good for you! It is a delicious, wholesome plant, that has gotten a bad rap, but that has been consumed for centuries by some of the world’s healthiest populations and has a lot to offer nutritionally. – Rachael Yerkes, Eazy Peazy Mealz

Looking for more content about the tours? Check out these posts:

Lynne Feifer, 365 Days of Baking & More

• Soy – One Little Bean Can Do So Much
• Dairy-Free Pumpkin Muffins
• TASTE Tour 2019: 365 Days of Baking & More – Lynne

 Becky Hardin, The Cookie Rookie

• Edamame Recipe with Everything Bagel Seasoning (Everything Edamame)

 Rachael Yerkes, Eazy Peazy Mealz

• Miso Salmon
• Kale, Edamame, Quinoa Super Salad
• TASTE Tour 2019: Eazy Peazy Mealz – Rachael

 Lisa Longley, Wine and Glue

• Edamame Hummus
• Vegetarian Chili Recipe
• TASTE Tour 2019: Wine & Glue – Lisa

Julie Tran Deily, The Little Kitchen

• Vegetarian Dumplings

Lisa Lin, Healthy Nibbles

• Spicy Roasted Edamame

 Jocelyn Brubaker, Inside BruCrew Life

• Fun Facts About Soybeans
• Sugar Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

 Erin Sellin, Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

• The Truth About Soybeans
• Parmesan Garlic Roasted Edamame

Cathy Trochelman, Lemon Tree Dwelling

• Pad Thai
• Soy Glazed Shishito Peppers

The 2019 Best Food Facts TASTE Tour was sponsored by BestFoodFacts.org and United Soybean Board.

The post 2019 Best Food Facts TASTE Tour Recap appeared first on Best Food Facts.

The Food Allergy Research and Resource Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been researching the issue for more than 20 years. Dr. Melanie Downs is an assistant professor with the program. Her research focuses on the identification, characterization, and detection of food allergens. She also works with the food industry on food allergen management. We asked her some of the questions we’ve received at Best Food Facts.

What is the cause of most food allergies?

Dr. Downs: “A food allergy occurs in certain individuals whose immune systems have generated a particular type of antibody — IgE – which specifically recognizes proteins from a particular food. After these IgE antibodies have developed and the person consumes the food in question, interaction of the food proteins with the IgE antibodies will result in the release of substances in the body (e.g histamine), which will cause symptoms of an allergic reaction.”

“While it has been known for many years that food-specific IgE is required to develop a food allergy, it’s still unknown exactly why certain individuals develop IgE against foods and other individuals don’t.  Having food-specific IgE antibodies is necessary for an allergic reaction but some individuals who have such antibodies do not experience allergic reactions on ingestion of the food.”

If someone is allergic to soy, what is the part of the food that causes a reaction?

Dr. Downs: “The food components responsible for soy allergies, like nearly all food allergies, are the naturally occurring proteins in the food. Foods can have a number of different allergenic proteins, and allergic individuals may react to one or more of these allergens.”

If you are allergic to soy, should you avoid foods cooked in soy oil? Find out here.

What are the typical reactions that indicate a food allergy?

Dr. Downs: “The symptoms of an allergic reaction to foods can involve various different organ systems, including the following:

• skin – hives, swelling, eczema
• respiratory tract – runny nose, throat swelling, asthma
• gastrointestinal tract – nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain
• cardiac system – low blood pressure, arrhythmia

“Severe allergic reactions can also result in anaphylaxis, shock, and death. The type of symptoms experienced during a food-allergic reaction can vary widely between allergic individuals and between reactions for a single individual.”

What’s the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance?

Dr. Downs: “The primary difference between food allergies and food intolerances is that the biological mechanisms for food allergies involve the immune system, while the mechanisms for intolerances do not. In most cases, food allergies are also generally considered to present more severe and immediate health risks than intolerances; sulfite-induced asthma is an exception as it is not an allergic reaction but can cause immediate and severe reactions.”

Do soy allergies usually begin in childhood or later in life?

Dr. Downs: “Soy allergies have historically developed most commonly in infancy or early childhood, which is similar to milk, egg, and wheat allergies. The development of soy allergy in infancy may be related to the use of soy formula as a substitute for milk formula.  As that practice is decreasing, the prevalence of soy allergy in infancy may decrease as well.  It is possible to develop a food allergy later in life as well.”

Are soy allergies becoming more common?

Dr. Downs: “While there is some evidence that food allergies in general are becoming more common, it is difficult to get good estimates of the prevalence of allergies to some individual foods, including soy. If the rates of soy allergy are increasing at all, they do not appear to be increasing any faster than other food allergies.”

What are some common misconceptions about food allergies?

Dr. Downs: “Some consumers with histories of serious allergic reactions do not seek advice from an allergist and do not carry the life-saving drug, epinephrine. They should do both.”

Food allergies are caused when a person’s immune system creates a particular type of antibody. Soy allergies are caused by the protein. Reactions can vary; if you have a serious reaction, consult with a physician.

The post Think You Might Have a Soy Allergy? appeared first on Best Food Facts.

What is protein?

Dr. Zello: “Proteins are composed of amino acids. These amino acids are placed in a precise order by a genetic code specific to each protein. This makes each protein unique and related to its function in the body. All animals and plants contain protein; therefore, one source of amino acids comes from our diet.

“There are two kinds of amino acids, those that our body can make from others amino acids (dispensable or non-essential) and those that have to come from the food we eat (indispensable or essential).  Protein is a macronutrient, along with carbohydrates and fat, thus besides its many functions it also provides energy to the body. Furthermore, protein is our source of nitrogen that we also require to make essential nitrogen-containing compounds.”

Protein has many functions in the body:

• Immediate energy (calories)
• Enzymes
• Hormones (e.g. insulin)
• Structural proteins (e.g. muscle, bone, teeth, skin, blood vessels, hair; nails etc.)
• Immunoproteins (e.g. antibodies)
• Transport proteins (e.g. albumin, hemoglobin, lipoproteins).
• Other essential nitrogen-containing compounds made from amino acids are melanin pigments (skin color) thyroid hormones, neurotransmitters (e.g. serotonin, epinephrine), nucleic acids and creatine.

How much protein does a person need in a day?

Dr. Zello: “The amount of protein an adult needs in a day is based on the weight of an individual, as the more you weigh the more protein one will require. For an adult, the requirement is 0.8 grams per kilogram of weight per day. Therefore, someone who weighs 70kg (155lbs) will require 56g of protein per day. It is usually not a problem to consume this much protein as most adults eat on average 80 to 120g of protein per day. If you are a growing infant or child, or a woman who is pregnant or nursing, protein needs increase.”

What are some sources of protein?

Dr. Zello: “All plants and animal products contain protein. Those proteins that provide all the amino acids that we need are called high or good quality proteins. These would include meats, eggs and dairy products. Some proteins have lower quality as they may be missing or have lower amounts of a specific amino acid. For example, legumes are lower in methionine and grains are lower in lysine. This is not usually a problem as we eat more protein then we need in a day.”

Are there different types of protein that help for athletic performance?

Dr. Zello: “Athletes do not require any different types of proteins as when we eat protein, the protein is broken down to amino acids in our digestive tract to amino acids and are then absorbed in our body. These absorbed amino acids are then used to make proteins and as long as you eat balanced meals you will be getting sufficient amounts of amino acids to meet needs including those of an athlete. As proteins are not stored in our body like fat, the protein that we eat in excess of what we need is broken down and the nitrogen excreted from our bodies.”

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dr. Zello: “One misconception is that athletes are required to supplement their diet with protein as they are not consuming enough through the food they eat. Part of this misunderstanding is that protein requirements for an athlete may range between 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg per day which is greater than the 0.8 g/kg per day for the non-athlete. However, since we eat more protein than we need to begin with and an athlete will need to eat more calories to perform (expend more calories), the requirement for an athlete will still be met. For example, if an athlete weighing 60kg, consumes 15% of daily calories as protein (rest from carbohydrates and fats), and requires 2700 kcal per day for energy needs, they would be at 1.7 g/kg per day, or the high end of an athlete’s protein needs.”

Protein is an important part of our daily diets and essential for our bodies to function. Animal sources of protein include meat, milk and eggs. Plant sources of protein include soy, peanuts, lentils and chick peas. Both plant and animal protein can be part of a healthy diet.

The post What Are Different Types of Protein? appeared first on Best Food Facts.

Soy comes from soybeans – a crop grown by farmers throughout the United States – in states such as Ohio, Illinois and Minnesota as well as Canada. We like to dig into the information behind how our food is grown and many of us want to know if our food is sustainably grown, so we found these interesting facts about soy and soybeans.

1. Soybeans create some of their own fertilizer.

Soybeans are in a class of plants called legumes which have the unique ability to use nitrogen that is in the air. Microorganisms that live on the soybean roots convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that the plant can use. In turn, the plant feeds the microorganism. When the plant decays, the nitrogen that has been pulled from the air is released into the soil. Growing soybeans in a field can add 30 to 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre into the soil.

2. Every part of the soybean is used in some way.

After farmers harvest the beans from the field, they are processed, where the bean is separated into two parts. Most of the bean is meal, which contains protein, and is used in food products or feed for animals, such as chickens, pigs and cows.

The other portion of the bean is oil, some of which is used as cooking oil, which is commonly labeled vegetable oil. It is also used in many different products –machine oil, paint, candles, beauty supplies and even crayons.

3. Soybeans are renewable fuel.

Soybeans are used to make a renewable fuel known as biodiesel. Compared to petroleum-based diesel, biodiesel produces fewer air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrocarbons.

Biodiesel is considered to be carbon-neutral because soybean plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, which offsets the carbon that forms while making and burning biodiesel.

Any diesel vehicle can use biodiesel, or a blend of biodiesel and petroleum diesel. More than 9 billion gallons of biodiesel are used worldwide each year.

4. Soybeans can replace petroleum in common products.

The oil from soybeans is chemically similar to petroleum and many manufacturers are using soy oil in their products because it is a more sustainable option. Soybean oil is used in tires, creating a tire that is more flexible in cold weather. Soybeans are used in flooring products to create Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings that meet environmental targets. It’s also used to make environmentally safe cleaning products.

5. Soybean farmers are growing more using less natural resources.

Scientists and farmers have worked together to make raising soybeans sustainable for the environment. They have adopted practices to be more efficient, so food can be grown using less land, energy and water. From 1980 to 2015, farmers cut their energy use by 35 percent and invested in soil conservation to preserve land. By using technology, such as GPS and seeds that require less pesticides, farmers reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent during that same period.

Soybeans are a versatile crop that helps create environmentally friendly products. Growers continue to look for ways to make the crop even more sustainable.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Energy

Ohio Soy Council

University of Missouri

United Soybean Board

The post Five Things You Might Not Know about Soybeans appeared first on Best Food Facts.

What determines which crops are grown in each area of the country?

Dr. Parrott: “It’s really a combination of traits of the particular crop and the associated economics. For example, coffee and bananas would never survive a winter, so they must be grown in warmer climates. Peanuts or potatoes have to be dug up, so those crops get grown in areas where sandy soil makes this easier. Corn and wheat would both grow well in Iowa, but corn is the more valuable of the two, so it gets preference there. Wheat then gets relegated to the drier areas where corn is more difficult to grow.”

Why can’t oranges be grown in Montana?

Dr. Baenziger: “They can’t take the cold. They’re a tree that can’t take freezes well. How many times do you hear about a frost in Florida killing orange trees? Imagine if that were in Montana. If you buy garden plants, there’s a hardiness zone that indicates whether a certain plant will grow in that zone. It’s a similar situation with crops. It’s important to buy (and plant) with hardiness zones in mind. If you’re in Montana, you never want to buy a plant that can’t take the cold temperatures!”

Where are most of the fruits and vegetables in the U.S. grown?

Dr. Parrott: “These can be grown in many parts of the country. California’s San Joaquin Valley has dry air that helps prevent diseases (as long as there is water for irrigation). As winter comes to an end, vegetable production starts in Florida, then moves northward as spring progresses and the days get warmer.”

Dr. Baenziger: “It really depends on two things – climate and labor force. A lot of vegetables are grown in southern states, where the climate is favorable and there’s access to a labor force. You often hear of migrant workers starting in California or Texas and moving northward. A lot of fruits and vegetables are still picked by hand, and the labor force is following the northward movement of fruit and vegetable production as the weather gets warmer.”

Can crops grown in certain areas change over time?

Dr. Baenziger: “Yes. At one time, Nebraska was the center for apple production, but right around World War II there was a very harsh winter, which killed the trees. No one was around to replant them because they were either fighting in the war or working to aid war efforts.”

What are some of the most commonly grown crops in the country? Where are these crops grown?

Dr. Baenziger: “The number one and two crops are corn and soybeans. Another one that is not often thought of as a crop is turf grass, because it’s in everybody’s yard. Corn is grown virtually everywhere there is enough heat. Corn is a heat-loving crop, so it needs heat to grow. It takes a lot of water in the summer, so sometimes farmers might switch to a more water-conserving crop, like sorghum. Soybeans are similar to corn, but tend to be a little more cold sensitive, so they aren’t grown in areas where freezes are more common. When you get into drought, that’s when you start to see more sorghum and wheat coming in more often. In the corn and soybean areas, wheat is mostly a rotational crop (meaning you rotate crops each year, because rotating crops helps control pests and diseases and improve soil health). In drier areas, wheat becomes the primary crop as it’s much more drought-tolerant. Cotton is grown in the South where it’s hot, and rice is grown mainly in California, Arkansas and some parts of Texas. Rice fields are flooded, and it takes quite a bit of water to grow that crop.”

What about growing seasons? Can most crops be grown year ’round?

Dr. Baenziger: “Most crops can’t be grown year ’round because they are acclimated to the climate, and most crops don’t grow through the winter. Crops can be grown at different times of the year in different areas of the country. For example, strawberries start in California, then move to Oregon, Washington and even into Canada. Then it will be strawberry seasons in South America. So somewhere in the globe fruit is in season, hence you can always have fresh fruit. Growing fruits and vegetables in greenhouses is another option.”

How do the limitations on crop growth affect food trends, like buying local foods?

Dr. Parrott: “As Dr. Baenziger mentioned, there is a seasonality to what crops can be grown locally. Cities out West must use lots of irrigation to grow locally, and they don’t always have it. Very large cities are unlikely to have enough open land around them to feed themselves locally.

I should point out that my grandmother in Kentucky ate local all her life, but it meant she spent long hours in the summer canning produce for the winter months. Fresh produce during the winter was out of the question. In this day and age, it can take less energy to grow the produce far away and ship it to areas where it is out of season, than to grow it locally and preserve it for the winter. It’s important to not automatically assume that because something is not local it is not sustainable. Many factors come into play that can affect the answer.”

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