| The soybean has a long history and a very long | | | | bean such as Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, |
| journey through out the world. This journey, | | | | Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal and |
| lasting almost 27 centuries, changed the world | | | | northern India. Soy was commonly used as an |
| that we know today. Soy products feed a large | | | | ingredient in the early ages of it's history and was |
| part of nearly every country's inhabitants, as well | | | | used to make tofu, miso, and tempeh. Meanwhile |
| as various non-edible uses. The soybean was first | | | | the other European countries still were still not |
| cultivated by the Chinese. It then spread further | | | | using the unfamiliar bean. |
| throughout China and to other countries around it. | | | | Long after Asia had started using the soybean, in |
| Some time after the domestication of the soy | | | | the 17th century, Europeans started using the |
| plant, Europeans too learned about the uses of | | | | bean that they had seen in travels to Asia. Yet, |
| the soybean and they started to grow it. Much | | | | even then all they did was import soy sauce from |
| later, with a hand from Benjamin Franklin, the | | | | China. Finally by the 18th century soybeans were |
| soybean made it's journey to America. The | | | | being grown in European countries. Much later, the |
| soybean has had a lengthy journey, and one that | | | | first soy plant touched American territory. In 1770 |
| has effected the whole world. | | | | Benjamin Franklin sent his friend, a botanist, seeds |
| Soybeans were first used as early as the 11th | | | | of a soybean. Unfortunately Franklin's attempt |
| century BC by the Chinese. Soybeans were | | | | was unsuccessful to spark the interest of |
| honored by the ancient Chinese and the emperor | | | | America. The true time when soybeans were |
| Sheng-Nung named it as one of the five sacred | | | | finally introduced into America was when a ship |
| plants. Included with soybeans rice, wheat, barley, | | | | full of soy plants used as ballast landed at a dock. |
| and millet. Soybeans were used in this early | | | | A few farmers interested in the plant decided to |
| civilization both as food and also as a medicine. | | | | try and grow them, at last the soybean was |
| Perhaps the soybean actually helped cure | | | | being grown in America. Since 1929 the soybean |
| sicknesses because of the vitamins that it | | | | crop has increased form 9 million bushels to over |
| contains. Centuries after the soybeans were being | | | | 2.8 billion bushels. |
| used by the Chinese, they were domesticated | | | | In America soybeans began to flourish flourish, on |
| and it is now said that they could be one of the | | | | the farms and on the markets. In 1904 George |
| first crops ever to be grown by humans. It | | | | Washington Carver a famous chemist discovered |
| wasn't long after this when the rest of the world | | | | that soybeans contain large amounts of protein |
| learned about the benefits of the soybean. | | | | and oil. Later on in 1919 William Morse helped |
| Hundreds of years after the Chinese first | | | | found the American Soybean Association. Henry |
| discovered the uses of the soy bean and the | | | | Ford known for making automobiles made a car |
| domestication of the soy plant, other parts of the | | | | with all of the plastic made from soybeans! |
| world started using the soy bean too. By the first | | | | However it wasn't truly until the 1940's when |
| century countries such as Korea started using the | | | | Soybean farming rocketed. |
| soybean. Soybeans also became more widely | | | | Soy has a long history and despite it's long |
| used throughout china and had spread to Central | | | | journey,it still can not rest, for even today, people |
| and southern china. It want until the 7th century | | | | are still finding new uses for soybeans. |
| when many other countries started using the soy | | | | |