SOYBEANS IN OUR BREAD BASKET
            The season is changing. Trees are decked in multi-colored leaves which they will gradually shed as the days grow shorter and the sun makes it journey towards the south for the winter. The green fields of soybeans have turned a golden brown and machines maneuver the fields reaping the harvest that adds to our agricultural economy.
Illinois is located in a region known as one of the four “bread baskets” of the world where the conditions of soil and climate are especially suited for growing grain. When soybeans are harvested (about 35 percent of the total principal crops of the state) only a small amount is made into flour for bread.
Soybeans are the world's foremost provider of protein and oil. A 60-pound bushel yields about 48 pounds of protein-rich meal and 11 pounds of oil. In 2006, the United States exported 1.1 billion bushels of soybeans, 42 percent of the world's soybean trade. 
When harvested soybeans reach their destination for processing, after being stored and cleaned, they are dried, cracked, and dehulled. Further processing results in edible uses of whole soybeans including sprouts, full fat soy flour, roasted soynuts, or other soyfoods. Oil products extracted have edible uses, most notably cooking oils, salad dressings, and margarine. A product related to the oil is soybean lecithin. It is used for everything from pharmaceuticals to protective coatings. It is as natural emulsifier and lubricant. For example, it is used in a candy bar to keep chocolate and cocoa butter from separating. After the soy oil is extracted, the remaining flakes can be processed into various edible soy protein products. Soy flour is used in baby food, bakery goods, cereals, hypoallergenic milk, meat products, and many other processed foods.
Processing also results in industrial uses. Whole soybeans can be processed and used by industry as wetting agents in cosmetics, dispersing agents in insecticides and rubber, anti-spattering agents in margarine, and as anti-foam agents in alcohol and yeast. Refined soy oil products have industrial uses also. They can be used for lubricants, solvents, varnishes, pesticides, paints, inks and printing, soap, detergents, linoleum baking disinfectants, diesel fuel, fuel additives, protective coatings, vinyl plastics, and wallboard. What is left over after soy oil extraction can be made into soy flour and used in adhesives, antibiotics, cleansing materials, textiles, polyesters, plastics, leather substitutes, and water-based paints. Soybean meal is used for animal feed, Even the hulls can be used for dairy feed, filter material, or high fiber breads.
Look for evidence of soybeans on the labels of packaging. If you have a choice, use a soy product – as a food, it is healthy, and as an industrial product, it is environmentally friendly.tf
This information and more can be found on the Internet at www.soystats.com/2007/ and www.unitedsoybean.org.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 10/10/07 (for publication on 10/13/07 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois). Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org