Cultivation

Soybeans are the most important crop worldwide for producing oil and protein. The main areas for cultivation are regions with warm/moderate to subtropical climates. The leading producing countries are the USA, Brazil, Argentina, China, India, Paraguay, Canada and Bolivia. In 2006, 226.8 million tons of soybeans were produced on 93.4 million hectares.

Utilisation

Soy beans provide the raw material and basis for countless forms of foodstuffs, food ingredients and supplements such as:

• plant oils and fats, soy oil, lecithin and other emulsifiers,tocopherol (vitamin E)
• soy flour, soya grist different soy protein products, in particular for convenience foods
• traditional soy products such as tofu, soya sauce, miso and tempeh
• substitutes for meat and milk: soya milk, soya puddings, textured soy protein

Animal feed:

• in the oil mills, the fat from the soy beans is extracted and processed to oil. The remaining soya mass is used as protein-rich animal feed.
  Yearly, the EU imports 35–40 million tons of soya beans; approximately half as soy grist (coarsely ground soya beans for animal feed). Without fodder from soy beans it would not be possible to maintain Europe's production of animal foodstuffs at the present level.

Renewable primary products, energy crops:

• biofuels from soy oil (particularly in the USA)
• soy oil: basis for varnish, paints, washing and cleaning agents, lubricants, softener
• multiple uses in the production of cosmetics

Gene technology: aims of research and development

Agronomic traits

Weed control

• Tolerance to herbicides is by far the most important commercial characteristic of GM-soy beans. RoundupReady-soy beans (with resistance against herbicides containing the active ingredient glyphosate) have been grown for many years on a large scale particularly in North and South America. These areas account for about 60% of the world's soy bean production.

Resistance to pathogens

• Fungal resistance

• Nematode resistance

Resistance against pests

• Insect resistance against the larvae of different types of butterflies and moths, as well as against aphids.

Adaptation to climate and location factors

• Tolerance to drought and salinity

Quality traits

Modified composition of components:

• increased content of oleic acid (86% instead of 23%), and less linoleic acid. Because of the lower levels of linoleic acid, less trans fat, with its possible health risks, is formed when processing such strains of soya beans. These form at high temperatures, e.g. by hydrogenation of fates or by deep frying. GM-soy beans with a higher content of oleic acid are grown in the USA.

• Modified protein and amino acid content: e.g. enrichment with methionine. This amino acid is normally only found at low levels in soy beans and has to be supplement if animals are fed solely on soya fodder.

• Reduced content of the polysaccharides stachyose and raffinose: stachyose is an oligosaccharide that cannot be digested by many domestic animals and also by humans. In the small intestines, stachyose is broken down by bacteria producing gas (flatulence). Different studies have shown that feedstuffs with a lower stachylose content enhance growth in pigs and poultry.

Enrichment with health-promoting ingredients, such as:

• sterols and stanols, secondary plant compounds that have a cholesterol lowering effect

• vitamin E

Removal of harmful substances:

• allergens

Renewable primary products

• Enrichment of certain fatty acids: Soy bean oil contains various fatty acids that have different chemical and physical characteristics. Oils with different defined characteristics are needed for certain industrial processes. An aim of gene modifications of soy beans is to produce strains with an increased level of a particular fatty acid and reduced formation of some others, to provide a soy bean oil that can be used as a raw material for specific industrial products.

Production of pharmaceutically active substances

• Molecular pharming: utilisation of gene-modified soy beans as a system for producing active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Field trials with GM soy beans

Utilisation of GM soy beans