The ingredient in almost everything you eat - Francesca Bot

譯者: pamela lam 審譯者: Thomas Tam

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

在 1930 年代，美國工業家 亨利·福特有一個無法抗拒的癡迷：

soybeans.

大豆。

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

他提取了豆油來製造瓷漆 並把他的汽車上漆。

He crushed them into powder to make plastic parts.

他將它們碾成粉末製成塑料零件。

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

他鼓勵美國農民盡可能多種這種植物。

But he wasn’t just feeding soy to machines.

但他不單止是給機器餵大豆。

在芝加哥世界博覽會上， 他舉辦了以大豆為中心的盛宴。

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

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

幾個世紀以來，這種食材 一直是亞洲美食的主食，

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

但福特的晚餐—— 用大豆替代牛奶、肉類和小麥

took the integration of soy into food a step further.

將大豆進一步融入到食物中。

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

如今，大豆存在於許多食物中，

以至於大多數人 每天都在不知不覺中食用它。

without even knowing it.

So what makes soybeans so versatile?

那麼是什麼讓大豆如此多功能呢？

And is our global obsession healthy or harmful?

我們這個全球癡迷的大豆 是健康的還是有害的呢？

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

早在 5,500 年前， 亞洲就開始種植大豆，

but since then they’ve spread across the globe.

但從那時起，它們遍佈全球。

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

大豆成功的部分原因 在於這種農作物可以在任何條件下

in variable conditions.

好容易和廉價地種植。

And once they’re grown,

一旦成熟，

soybeans have an incredibly high density of proteins and fats;

大豆的蛋白質和脂肪的密度非常高。

ingredients which in recent years have been used in everything

近年來，大豆成分 被廣泛應用於各種食品中，

from mayonnaise to biodegradable plastic.

包括從蛋黃醬到可生物降解塑料等等。

The ideal method for separating these components

分解這些成分的理想方法

depends on what you’re trying to extract.

取決於你想提取什麼。

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

為了分隔大豆蛋白質， 脫皮的大豆有時會通過滾筒

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

被壓成薄片，然後浸泡 在水中以提取蛋白質。

Alternatively, whole beans can be simply soaked and ground

或者，可以簡單地將完整的豆浸泡並磨成

into a whitish, protein rich liquid.

含豐富蛋白質的白色液體。

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

在這兩種情況下，產生的物質都 可以用來製作像豆腐之類的海綿狀食物，

like tofu or filtered to produce soymilk.

也可以用來過濾生產豆漿。

And at the industrial scale,

在工業規模上，

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

這些蛋白質可以以各種方式 被應用來幫助製造加工食品。

Soy fats may be even more versatile.

大豆脂肪的用途可能更廣泛。

In one extraction method,

在一種提煉方法中，

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

將大豆乾燥、清潔， 然後送入擠壓機。

This machine simultaneously heats and presses the beans,

這台機器把豆子同時加熱和壓制，

producing a liquid containing soy oil and other fatty components.

生產的液體含有豆油和其他脂肪成分。

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

通過加水和旋轉混合物， 組合被分成兩部分：

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

用於沙拉醬之類的精製豆油 和一種叫做卵磷脂的物質。

Lecithin is made of molecules called phospholipids,

卵磷脂由稱為磷脂的分子組成，

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

它有一個吸引水的磷酸鹽頭部 和一個吸引脂肪的尾部。

These features make phospholipids excellent for blending ingredients

這些特性使磷脂非常適合用作混合

that naturally separate from each other.

自然分離的成分。

This process is called emulsification

這個過程稱為乳化，

and soy lecithins are used as an emulsifying agent

大豆卵磷脂在多種食品中

in a huge variety of foods.

被用作乳化劑。

For example, during chocolate production

例如，在巧克力生產過程中，

phospholipids attach to both the fatty components of the cocoa butter

磷脂會附著在可可脂

and the water-soluble sugar particles,

和水溶性糖顆粒的脂肪成分上，

making them easier to combine into a smooth mixture.

使它們更容易混合成光滑的混合物。

A similar process happens in powdered products

類似的過程發生在需要

that need to be instantly rehydrated.

立即補水的粉狀產品中。

Soy lecithin bonds with the water

大豆卵磷脂與水結合，

and helps the powder disperse more quickly.

有助於粉末更快地分散。

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

雖然可以從其他植物 用來加工生產卵磷脂和蛋白質，

soy’s mild taste and widespread availability

但大豆的溫和味道和廣泛的可用性

have earned it a place in thousands of food products.

使其在數千種食品中佔有一席之地。

But is it unhealthy to be eating this much soy?

但是吃這麼多大豆會不健康嗎？

Not really.

不是。

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

大豆含有我們身體許多 所需的重要氨基酸，

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

吃它們成為不需吃肉 而可獲取蛋白質的最佳方法之一。

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

豆類的脂肪含量 主要由所謂的「好」脂肪組成——

poly and mono-unsaturated fatty acids,

多不飽和與單不飽和脂肪酸，

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

可以降低膽固醇並降低患心髒病的風險。

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.

可能會抑制我們身體 對各種礦物質的吸收。

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

大約 0.3% 的人患有大豆過敏症，

which can be severe in rare cases.

在極少數情況下可能會很嚴重。

But for many people, the biggest complaint about soy consumption

但對很多人來說， 對大豆食用的最大抱怨是

is the occasional increase in flatulence.

偶爾會增加腸胃脹氣。

然而，大豆在我們身體以外的事情 更令人擔憂。

Outside our bodies however, soy is much more worrying.

To accommodate the soy farms needed for heavy industry,

為了容纳大豆農場的需求量

來供給重工業、加工食品和牲畜飼料， 大片土地被砍伐。

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

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

2006 年至 2017 年間，亞馬遜地區 約有 22,000 平方公里的土地

were cleared for soy production.

被清理用於大豆生產。

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

在一些地區，這也導致當地社區裏

and indigenous communities.

農民和土著流離失所。

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

因此，如果我們想繼續使用大豆 及其所有副產品，

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

我們需要找到一個人道且可持續的方法。