Soybeans have been cultivated on planet Earth for thousands of years.
Japan, China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and other areas have used some form of the plant as a food source since before written records have been kept.
Soybeans were introduced into the Americas in the 1700’s, with their predominant use being as forage for livestock.
Over the years, much of the crop has become transformed into soy sauce, soy milk, tofu, and soy meal.
As the popularity of soy meal use for livestock feed has increased over time and the demand for beef and pork for human consumption has also increased, more acreage has been converted to the exclusive production of soybeans as a profitable crop.
Much of the Amazon rainforest continues to be logged off and converted to the cultivation of soybeans for livestock food.
Also, much of this deforestation is done for the purpose of creating more agricultural land to be used for the grazing of cattle to help meet this increasing demand for consumable meat products.
This has become an ongoing environmental concern, as the rainforest is known to be one of the most important areas on our planet in terms of green space and tree canopy that cleans the air the world’s population breathes.
This is also a contributing factor to global warming, the increasing average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere.
In addition, deforestation of the Amazon is resulting in the destruction of the homelands of indigenous peoples of that area.
Hence, the “green news” designation of how soybean cultivation is affecting the environment and the health of this planet for now and into the future.
