The ingredient in almost everything you eat - Francesca Bot

翻译人员: 新 陈 校对人员: Yuwei Wu

In the 1930s, American industrialist Henry Ford had one overwhelming obsession:

20世纪30年代，美国实业家 亨利·福特疯狂地迷恋上了一样东西：

soybeans.

大豆。

He extracted their oil to make enamel for painting his cars.

他从大豆中提取豆油， 制作福特汽车喷漆用的珐琅漆。

He crushed them into powder to make plastic parts.

他将大豆碾压成粉末 制作塑料零部件。

And he encouraged American farmers to grow as much of the plant as possible.

他还鼓励美国农民 尽可能地多种植这种植物。

But he wasn’t just feeding soy to machines.

他不仅仅给将大豆用在机械上面，

At the Chicago World’s Fair, he hosted a soy-centric feast.

还在芝加哥世界博览会上， 举办了一场大豆主题的宴会。

The ingredient had been a staple in Asian cuisine for centuries,

几个世纪以来，大豆一直是 亚洲菜选用的主要食材。

but Ford’s dinner— full of soy substitutes for dairy, meat and wheat—

而福特的宴会上—全都是大豆制成的 乳制品、肉类和小麦替代品—

took the integration of soy into food a step further.

使得大豆在食物中的应用更进一步。

Today, soy is in so many foods that most people consume it every day

如今，许多食物中都含有大豆成分，

without even knowing it.

大多数人每天 都在不知不觉中食用它。

So what makes soybeans so versatile?

那为什么大豆用途如此广泛呢？

And is our global obsession healthy or harmful?

风靡全世界的大豆究竟是 有益健康还是有害健康？

Soybeans have been cultivated in Asia as early as 5,500 years ago,

早在 5500 年前， 亚洲地区就开始种植大豆，

but since then they’ve spread across the globe.

此后大豆在世界范围内都有种植。

Part of soy’s success is that the crop can be grown easily and cheaply

大豆席卷世界的部分原因在于 这种农作物能够适应多变的环境

in variable conditions.

并且种植成本低。

And once they’re grown,

而且成熟的大豆，

soybeans have an incredibly high density of proteins and fats;

蛋白质和脂肪的含量非常高。

ingredients which in recent years have been used in everything

而这些成分近年来被广泛使用：

from mayonnaise to biodegradable plastic.

从蛋黄酱到 生物降解塑料，不一而足。

The ideal method for separating these components

分离出这些成分的理想方法

depends on what you’re trying to extract.

取决于你想提取什么。

To isolate soy proteins, dehulled beans are sometimes pressed through rollers

为了分离出大豆蛋白， 有时会用滚筒将脱皮的大豆挤压成薄片，

to create thin flakes, and then steeped in water to draw out the proteins.

然后将它们浸泡在水中 以提取蛋白质。

Alternatively, whole beans can be simply soaked and ground

或者，对未经加工的大豆 进行简单地浸泡和碾压

into a whitish, protein rich liquid.

使之流出蛋白质 含量丰富的白色液体。

In both cases, the resulting substance can be used to make spongy foods

这两种方法生产的物质可以用来制作 豆腐之类的松软食物，

like tofu or filtered to produce soymilk.

或者再经过滤后生产豆浆。

And at the industrial scale,

在工业生产中，

these proteins can be used in various ways to help make processed foods.

可以通过多种方式 利用这些蛋白质制作加工食品。

Soy fats may be even more versatile.

大豆脂肪的用途可能更为广泛。

In one extraction method,

有一种提炼方法中是，

soybeans are dried, cleaned, and then fed into an extruder.

将大豆烘干、洗净，送入挤压机。

This machine simultaneously heats and presses the beans,

机器会在加热豆子的同时，压榨豆子，

producing a liquid containing soy oil and other fatty components.

流出的液体含有 豆油和其他脂肪成分。

By adding water and spinning the mixture, components are separated into two parts:

经过加水和旋转分离后， 这些成分会被分成两部分：

refined soy oil for things like salad dressing, and a substance called lecithin.

精练豆油——可以用来制作沙拉酱等 和一种叫做卵磷脂的物质。

Lecithin is made of molecules called phospholipids,

卵磷脂由磷脂分子组成，

which have a phosphate head that attracts water and a tail that attracts fats.

它的一端亲水 另一端亲油。

These features make phospholipids excellent for blending ingredients

由于具备这些特性， 磷脂非常适合用来

that naturally separate from each other.

混合那些不相溶的成分。

This process is called emulsification

这一过程称为乳化，

and soy lecithins are used as an emulsifying agent

大豆卵磷脂在很多种食品生产过程中

in a huge variety of foods.

被用作乳化剂。

For example, during chocolate production

例如，在巧克力生产过程中，

phospholipids attach to both the fatty components of the cocoa butter

磷脂会附着在可可脂

and the water-soluble sugar particles,

和水溶性糖颗粒的脂肪成分上，

making them easier to combine into a smooth mixture.

促进它们结合形成 表面光滑的混合物。

A similar process happens in powdered products

在生产需要及时加水的粉状产品时

that need to be instantly rehydrated.

也会发生类似的情况。

Soy lecithin bonds with the water

大豆卵磷脂与水结合，

and helps the powder disperse more quickly.

加速粉末分离。

While there are other plants we can process for lecithin and proteins,

虽然可以还有其他植物可以用来 加工生产卵磷脂和蛋白质，

soy’s mild taste and widespread availability

但大豆因其口感柔和，用途广泛，

have earned it a place in thousands of food products.

在成千上万的加工食品中 赢得了自己的一席之地。

But is it unhealthy to be eating this much soy?

但食用这么多大豆不会有害健康吗？

Not really.

并不会。

Soybeans contain many of the essential amino acids our bodies need,

大豆中含有许多人体必需的氨基酸，

making them one of the best ways to get these proteins without eating meat.

因而食用大豆是不用吃肉 就可以获取这些蛋白质的最佳方式。

And the beans’ fat content is largely made up of so-called “good” fats—

大豆脂肪主要由 所谓的“有益”脂肪组成——

poly and mono-unsaturated fatty acids,

多不饱和脂肪酸与单不饱和脂肪酸，

which can decrease cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.

它们可以降低胆固醇， 同时降低患心脏病的风险。

There are some compounds in soy

大豆中的一些化合物

that may inhibit our body’s absorption of various minerals.

可能会抑制我们身体 对多种矿物质的吸收。

And about 0.3% of the general population has a soy allergy,

大约 0.3% 的人对大豆过敏，

which can be severe in rare cases.

极少数情况下，会产生严重的过敏症状。

But for many people, the biggest complaint about soy consumption

但对大多数人来说， 食用大豆最常见的后果是

is the occasional increase in flatulence.

胀气的情况会偶有增加。

Outside our bodies however, soy is much more worrying.

然而，大豆对我们身体 以外的影响更令人担忧。

To accommodate the soy farms needed for heavy industry,

为了种植大豆，给重工业、 加工食品、牲畜饲料提供生产原料，

processed foods and livestock feed, huge swaths of land have been deforested.

大片树木被砍伐。

Between 2006 and 2017, roughly 22,000 square kilometers of the Amazon

2006 年至 2017 年间， 亚马逊地区约有 22000 平方公里的土地

were cleared for soy production.

被夷为平地，用于大豆种植。

In some regions, this has also led to the displacement of farmers

这也导致一些地区的农民和土著

and indigenous communities.

被迫离开家园。

So if we want to keep using soy and all its byproducts,

因此，如果我们还想继续 使用大豆及其副产品的话，

we’ll need to find a way to do it humanely and sustainably.

就必须找到一个人性化 且可持续的解决方案。