According to the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (link in Norwegian), soybeans have been cultivated in China for over 3,000 years, but were only introduced to the West much later.
This plant quickly became popular, and it's no wonder why.
Soybeans are rich in protein, containing 36 grams per 100 grams of raw beans, which is double the protein found in chickpeas or peas, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Soybeans also contain a lot of healthy oils, up to 20 percent, which is much more than chickpeas and peas, which only have around 5 percent oil.
Soybeans are not only nutritious but also inexpensive, making them highly suitable for use as food for humans and animals.
In Norway, soy protein is mixed into the meat of some ready-to-eat pizzas, including the Norwegian brand Grandiosa.
Does soy make your breasts bigger?
Soy may also be found in canned stews and liver pâté. The additive soy lecithin is found in chocolate icings, biscuits and prepared meals. In vegetarian products, soy is often used as a meat substitute.
Soybean makes up a large part of the diet of Norwegian livestock.
Soybean meal makes up 20 percent of chicken feed, 8 percent of pig feed and about 12 percent of salmon feed, according to feed company annual reports.
But not everyone is convinced that soy is good for us.
A recent social media post claims that drinking soy milk can make men's breasts larger.
Reduces the risk of disease
This claim is likely due to the fact that soybeans and other legumes contain hormones that resemble estrogen.
But plant hormones work differently than human hormones, the researchers explain in a Washington Post article.
In fact, the opposite is true: soy may reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancer, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and stave off dementia and memory loss in later life, researchers report.
However, despite the soy's positive properties and the multitude of products it can be used in, Norway is aiming to reduce its soy use.
Soybeans can be processed into oil, soy sauce, milk, tofu, and more, but they are primarily used as animal feed and as an additive to meat and other foods. (Photo: Shutterstock / NTB)
Most soybeans are genetically modified
Two factors are driving Norway's efforts to reduce its soy consumption: genetic modification and rainforests.
All the soy that Norway's people and livestock eat is imported.
According to salmonfacts.com, 70 percent of these soybean imports go to the salmon industry, while the rest is distributed for animal and human consumption.
According to the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the United States is the world's largest soybean producer but does not export any soybeans to Norway.
Soybeans are the most genetically modified crop in the world, and their genes have been manipulated to give the versatile plant enhanced traits and increased yields.
According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (link in Norwegian), genetically modified soy products are not approved for either humans or animals in Norway, so Norwegian companies buy soy from Brazil, the second largest producer, where soy is also often genetically modified, although there are also some non-GMO soy plantations.
And then there's the rainforest.
Cows need new pasture
Soybean cultivation is thriving in Brazil, and it requires land.
Norwegian companies have pledged not to buy soybeans from fields located in deforested rainforest areas.
In Brazil, a highway separates soybean fields from a national park. (Photo: Leo Correa/AP/NTB)
Environmental groups, including the Norwegian Rainforest Foundation, say the policy is unhelpful because soy cultivation would take over cattle pasture.
So the problem changes: cows need space to graze, and that space is in the rainforest that is being cut down.
Researchers and food producers are tackling the soy problem from two angles. One approach is to find alternatives to soy, and the other is for Norway to grow its own soy.
Ingunn M. Vågen tried the latter.
A cold climate suitable for growing soybeans
Vogen works at a research institute called NIBIO and was involved in a project focused on growing high-protein plants.
“In recent years, there have been considerable efforts to increase soybean production in Europe, even in northern regions with less favourable climates,” Vågen told sciencenorway.no.
For example, Germany and Belgium are working to develop varieties that are better suited to the growing seasons and conditions in the north.
Vågen primarily experimented with different varieties of immature soybeans known as edamame.
These beans are particularly popular in Asian cuisine and are served steamed with salt and lemon.
Soybeans, especially in the form of edamame, are a big part of the Japanese diet. (Photo: Shutterstock/NTB)
The cultivation went well, but then it stopped.
“Edamame are a different type of bean, but they come from the same plant species as mature soybeans, which are used for food and animal feed,” Vogen says.
The big difference is that edamame are harvested as immature seeds.
“It's important that the seeds are large, green and sweet and tasty, and that the pods are smooth and a nice green color,” she says.
The fact that it is unripe when harvested may be why it is well suited to growing in Norway.
“We have a short growing season in Norway. If we want to produce soybeans here we need varieties that can be harvested early, as soybeans are very sensitive to low temperatures,” says Vågen.
Ingun Vogen is researching vegetable production and has tried his hand at growing soybeans. (Photo: NIBIO)
Growing soybeans in Norway?
It has long been predicted that climate change will lengthen Norway's growing season.
“We are already noticing it. Eventually it may be possible to grow mature soybeans in some parts of Norway,” Vågen says.
At NIBIO, researchers have been successful in producing mature soybean seeds of specific varieties.
However, Vågen is very skeptical about whether Norwegian soybeans can replace current imports.
“But in a few years' time, Norwegian soybeans may be complementing peas and broad beans, which are the best protein crops to grow in Norway,” she says.
“In Norway, we have limited arable land, so soybeans need to be replaced by other crops.”
Although the edamame beans she grew were delicious, they were never sold in stores and her research has been temporarily put on hold.
Researchers alone are not enough
This is because the harvesting period for edamame in the fields is short and the beans have a short storage life.
“Edamame beans need to be harvested, cooled, packed, shipped and delivered to stores within a few days, and freezing is an option, of course,” Voggen says.
But whether they're fresh or frozen, someone needs to transport them from the field and along the value chain to get them to the consumer.
NIBIO researchers do not have such a system in place, that is not what they do.
“We have shown that with the right varieties and cultivation techniques, it is indeed possible to grow edamame in Norway’s good climate. This is a start, but other companies need to take up the challenge of moving the product forward up the value chain,” Vågen says.
But researchers believe the soy experiment was not in vain.
“I can use the knowledge I gained about soy in Norway and when the time comes I'll be ready to start again,” she says.
Other researchers are trying to find alternatives to soy.
The machine turns protein powder into a meat-like product. Stefan Sahlström demonstrates how it works. (Photo: Nina Christiansen)
The potential of Norwegian raw materials
Stefan Sahlström of Nofima, a leading food research institute, has been working on developing meat substitutes using Norwegian ingredients.
Broad beans and peas are also high in protein, although not as rich as soybeans.
Sahlstrom removed the shells from beans and peas, ground them into a powder and sieved them to separate the protein from the starch.
“You're left with fine flour that contains about 60 percent protein,” Sahlström previously told forskning.no (link in Norwegian).
Flour can be mixed with a lot of water to create a tough, meat-like loaf, or it can be mixed with a little water to use in vegetarian sausages and burgers.
The use of Norwegian ingredients in plant-based products is becoming more common.
Flowfood makes burgers, nuggets, balls and more from fava beans and peas.
However, food producers continue to add soy flour to meat products.
“The ingredients we use are as good as soybeans, but price is probably what dictates what the food industry uses,” says Richard Nystad, general manager of Flowfood.
———
Translated by Ingrid P. Noos
The Norwegian version of this article can be read at forskning.no.
