Vegan demand presents new opportunities for marginal sugar farmers
Soya beans are widely used as an animal protein replacement, so why the move to yellow peas?
When seed companies in the US started robust breeding programmes for soya beans some 25 years ago, the focus was on achieving the best yield. There was no preference for flavour or colour, as soya beans were used mostly for animal feed. There was also a focus on genetically modified (GM) seed, and this is still true of most soya bean cultivars developed today.
Around the same time, however, the Japanese were using soya beans for human consumption in tofu and were therefore looking for a more stable colour and creamier flavours than what was generally grown. A group of soya bean seed breeders broke away from the norm and, instead of focusing only on yield, starting breeding for flavour and colour. They also moved away from GM varieties and included yellow field peas in their breeding programmes.
Today, there is growing interest in plant-based protein, and the demand for soya beans for human consumption is increasing. But most soya bean [varieties]
