The Otsuka Group is using soy to resolve the world’s health, nutrition, and environmental problems, via its Soylution (soy + solution) concept.
Soy has been called “the meat of the fields” for its high quality plant proteins and isoflavones and lecithin, components that have the potential to improve health around the world. Soy has been in the spotlight ever since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in 1999 the health claim that “25 g of soy protein a day (6.25 g per serving) may reduce the risk of heart disease.”
Soy has the ability to guard against lifestyle-related diseases and make a positive contribution toward solving health problems that come from imbalanced nutrition.
Worldwide, annual production of soy totals approximately 220 million tons,*1 but no more than 6%*2 of the soybeans grown are eaten directly by people. The United States is the world’s largest producer of soybeans, but most soybeans grown there are used as feed for livestock. Beef not only requires more resources to produce, it takes 10 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of beef.
If more people were to adopt the habit of eating soy, the world would take a major step forward toward resolving the pressing nutrition problems.
The Otsuka Group is contributing to a solution to the world’s nutrition problems by promoting the widespread consumption of soy.
- *1 According to the 2008 FAOSTAT
- *2 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (2008)
Because animals eat plants, it requires a vastly larger area of land to produce animal protein than it does to produce plant protein. In addition, the various processes required to bring meat from the ranch to the dinner table use an enormous amount of energy.
The amount of CO2 emitted during the production of soy is one-twelfth that of beef.*1 There is also data indicating that the amount of water required in the production of soy is one-fiftieth that of beef, and the amount of energy required is one-twentieth that of beef.*2
If more people were to adopt the habit of eating soy, it would play an important role in the solution of the world’s nutrition problems.
- *1 From Embodied Energy and Emission Intensity Data for Japan Using Input-Output Tables, published by the Center for Global Environmental Research National Institute for Environmental Studies
- *2 According to Professor David Pimentel of Cornell University, U.S.
The first Soylution product designed to make soy more popular around the world in a completely new way was SOYJOY, introduced in Japan in 2006. SOYJOY is a fruit-flavored soy bar made by baking a mix of soy powder and fruit without using any wheat flour. It is currently available in 11 countries and regions, including Asia, the U.S., and Europe. In China, where the value of soy is well-understood, SOYJOY is popular as a new way to enjoy a part of the local food culture.
The second Soylution product is SOYSH, a soy soda that blends soy* and carbonation and whose refreshing taste is popular even with people who do not like soy.
- * Excluding the seed coat
● SOYJOY’s global presence in 11 countries and regions (as of September 2011)
Soy—an integral part of Japanese food culture. The Otsuka Group will use its original ideas and technology to propose to the world new ways to enjoy soy, with all of its abundant nutrition.
