High Oleic, Non-GMO Soybean
There is no doubt that soybean can be used for many purposes, including human food products, animal feed, industrial applications, fuel, and consumer products. The main derivatives from soybean are oil and meal. Almost all of the meal from soybean is used in animal feed, and by far the largest percentage of soybean oil used in the US is in human food applications.
A June 2, 2021 news article titled “Innovative seed trait delivers on consumer preference and farmers’ bottom line” from the United Soybean Board provides details about how soy checkoff funding from the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council has helped deliver SOYLEIC, a non-GMO soybean trait that contains the high oleic technology. This new technology offers high functionality (longer shelf life and better heat stability, performs well in high heat operations) for the food preparation industry. Also, preliminary research results show that high oleic acid soybean in dairy cow rations results in higher milk fat concentration and higher milk fat yield, presumably because of a lower risk of diet-induced milk fat depression that results when diets that contain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are toxic to rumen microbes are fed to dairy cows.
According to information in an article titled “SOYLEIC soybeans’ expansion across U.S. means new options for farmers, industry”, this trait that was discovered using traditional breeding methods is a new tool for raising healthy food for humans since high oleic soybean oil has zero trans fats, making it ideal for food processing such as baking and frying. Thus, high oleic soybean oil meets the needs of the food industry as a non-GMO trans-fat-free replacement for partially hydrogenated oil.
High oleic soybeans received global regulatory approval in Jan. 2018. Seeds carrying the SOYLEIC trait will be planted on as many as 40,000 US acres in 2021.
The ultimate goal of varieties with this trait is that they have the same agronomic traits and yield performance that farmers expect from the varieties they now grow. Find out more about this new trait, how it will affect both farmers and the food industry, and its availability for planting by clicking here (Qualisoy.com) and here (soyinnovation.com).
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, June 2021, larryh91746@gmail.com