Do you have a source on this? I'm skeptical, because everything I've read on the subject has pointed to there being a lot of reasons for soy's ascendance (nitrogen-enriching soil, good protein/fat for livestock, the versatile oil you mentioned). I haven't seen it explained as "it's for the oil, animal feed is incidental byproduct." In fact, when I read about future projections of soy's growth, this growth is almost always tied to its role as a good feed for livestock. Example:
"The importance of soy on the global market is not likely to decrease anytime soon. With growing demand for meat around the world in places such as China, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that soy production will continue to increase dramatically, from around 276 million metric tons in 2013 to 390 million metric tons by 2050. Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, or Argentina may be likely to fill that demand."
This comes from the most recent article of this sort I've come across:
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/soybeans
Not saying that's like the gospel truth, but since I've never really seen your particular take I'm curious where it's coming from.
https://foodsource.org.uk/building-blocks/soy-food-feed-and-land-use-change
There are some whole-bean products made for humans, but those are grown from specific cultivars that are made to look and taste good to humans. Most soy is not from those cultivars.
Do you have a source on this? I'm skeptical, because everything I've read on the subject has pointed to there being a lot of reasons for soy's ascendance (nitrogen-enriching soil, good protein/fat for livestock, the versatile oil you mentioned). I haven't seen it explained as "it's for the oil, animal feed is incidental byproduct." In fact, when I read about future projections of soy's growth, this growth is almost always tied to its role as a good feed for livestock. Example:
"The importance of soy on the global market is not likely to decrease anytime soon. With growing demand for meat around the world in places such as China, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that soy production will continue to increase dramatically, from around 276 million metric tons in 2013 to 390 million metric tons by 2050. Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, or Argentina may be likely to fill that demand."
This comes from the most recent article of this sort I've come across:
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/soybeans
Not saying that's like the gospel truth, but since I've never really seen your particular take I'm curious where it's coming from.
https://foodsource.org.uk/building-blocks/soy-food-feed-and-land-use-change There are some whole-bean products made for humans, but those are grown from specific cultivars that are made to look and taste good to humans. Most soy is not from those cultivars.