• What percentage of the world’s soy production is processed into soy oil?
  • According to USDA estimates, 87% of the global soy output is processed into soy oil and soy cake, with the latter used almost entirely as an animal feed (see Figure 3).
  • What is modern soybean oil?
  • Modern soy oil is a stable high quality triglyceride ingredient used widely in commercial processed foods. It is without other lipid contaminants and available at a reasonable cost. Modern soybean processing starts with solvent extraction to obtain crude oil and defatted meal.
  • What percentage of soy is used for processing?
  • The 87% of soy used for processing is first crushed to separate crude soy oil from defatted soy cake. Soy oil is mostly used in commercial food manufacture (80%) where it is used as a vegetable oil or further processed into other products such as soy lecithin (an emulsifier and lubricant).
  • How is soybean processed?
  • Modern soybean processing starts with solvent extraction to obtain crude oil and defatted meal. Most defatted meal is used for animal feed and only a small portion is further processed into different types of soy protein products for human consumption (see Chapter 8). Crude oil contains variable amounts of nontriglyceride materials.
  • What percentage of soybeans are used in food production?
  • Only 6% of global soy output is used for foods for human consumption that are produced from whole soybeans (e.g. edamame beans, tofu, soymilk, soy sauce, or tempeh) and another 7% is used as a whole-bean animal feed. Figure 3: An estimation of the uses of soybean and soybean derivatives by weight.
  • Is soy a biofuel?
  • By weight, over two thirds of the soy consumed by humans consists of soy oil, which is also increasingly used as a biofuel. This building block explores the linkages between soy, land use change, and discussions on animal- versus plant-based protein sources.